1935 Georges Irat 6CV Roadster

In early automobile production, it was not uncommon for a automaker to marry an engine with a chassis and then send it off to a coachbuilder for completion. The time-intensive process of hand-forming the body, making it work with the dimensions allowed by the automobile, and satisfying the customers’ demands was a monumental task.

Apart from the bodies, the entire Irat car was produced at the factory in France. The Irat name had first appeared in 1914, but there is no record of car production until 1921. They would be in business until 1953. Their first automobile was the Model A, which was shown at the 1921 Paris Automobile Salon. It was powered by an OHV 1990cc four-cylinder engine and wore a design courtesy of Maurice Gaultier who had been with Delage. By 1926, the company introduced a 2985cc six-cylinder unit. Late in the 1920s, the company turned to producing Lycoming powered models, both in six- and eight-cylinder forms. A small car with a 1086cc four-cylinder engine was also added to the range but this, and the larger cars, would endure poor sales.

In 1934, the company was partially taken over by Godefroy et Levecque, the makers of the Ruby engine. The small Irat was an ideal sports car to house their 'Ruby' engines. The 1100cc powerplant drove the front wheels making them one of the few examples to utilize this configuration.

The Georges Irat 6CV had a sporty persona but lacked performance. It was offered as an open two-seater and was a popular car in its day.

In 1938, the company introduced a new sports car with a 1911cc engine produced by Citroen. It was fitted with an independent suspension using rubber springing at all four corners. World War II soon brought an end to this endeavor, and only about 200 examples were ever made.

They produced about 200 cars per year through the end of the 1930's.

Source: Conceptcarz, Hymanltd, other