1949 Georges Irat cabriolet by Labourdette

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.

After the war, Etablissements Irat et Cie specialized in industrial engines, marketed under the DOG brand. These are made in Bègles in the suburbs of Bordeaux. At the same time as this activity, Georges Irat is studying a new automobile. In 1946, he presented a revolutionary prototype mounted on a magnesium frame at the Paris Motor Show.

At the 1947 show, an evolution of this first prototype was presented. Finally, in 1949, a last prototype was offered. It is equipped with a 2-liter engine coupled to a Cotal gearbox. Designed for a speed of 150 km / h, it is equipped with hydraulic brakes. Only the body of this car attributed to the famous coachbuilder Labourdette was found in the Bègles factory and to be presented in various events, it was installed on a Simca Huit chassis.

Source: Conceptcarz, Stubs-auto.fr, Artcurial, other