1910 Talbot 25hp Model 6AS Six-cylinder 'Roi-de-Belges' Tourer

The name Talbot is inextricably linked in the veteran era with that of Adolphe Clément who had commenced motor car production as early as 1899, graduating like so many contemporary French manufacturers from the bicycle industry and also active involvement in the development of the pneumatic tyre. Clément's earliest cars adopted the ubiquitous De Dion Bouton engines, while a Clément-Panhard was also built to the design of Commandant Krebs of Panhard-Levassor fame. In England aristocrat Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury & Talbot, lent his name in 1903 to a new company established to import French Clément-Bayard motor cars and by 1904 a new English factory was built in London from which the first British-assembled Talbots emerged in 1905.

The first British-made Talbots appeared in 1906. In 1910 the 25hp six-cylinder Talbot was announced, clearly aimed at elevating Talbot into the same league as the six-cylinder Napier and Rolls-Royce offerings. The 3.6 litre, six-cylinder, cast in pairs, engine drove through a four speed gearbox and dual ignition was standard. Semi-elliptic leaf springing accommodated the more substantial coachwork this model was designed to carry, complemented by a transverse rear spring for greater passenger comfort.

This car was exported new to Australia and the dashboard plate indicates supply by the Armstrong Cycle and Motor Agency of Hay St., Perth. (Note - the plate refers to this car as a 20hp).

Descriptions & pictures by bonhams & Wikimedia & guide-automobiles-anciennes