1904 Gladiator Grand Prix Race Car

1904 Gladiator Grand Prix Race Car

Like many pre-1914 car manufacturers, the Gladiator company offered its customers at the beginning of the century a disconcerting variety of models with 1, 2, 4, 6 cylinders. The racing car that the firm created in 1904 is however entirely original.

It met the Grand Prix formula of the time which imposed a weight of less than 1000 kg.

Its chassis is occupied almost entirely by a solid engine 4 cylinders of 9 liters of displacement, leaving hardly room for the two bucket seats and the cylindrical tank. This monster made a very discreet career in the race, it remained apparently inactive until 1907, when it was taken in hand by the brothers Molon, two amateur drivers very active at that time.

The car behaved honorably in several hill races at Gaillon or Chateau-Thierry.

The car then definitely retired which allowed the car to subsist until today to almost intact. In 1906, Gladiator models with a metal-reinforced wooden frame were sold in France and those with a stamped steel frame were delivered to England. In 1909, the firm Vinot de Deguingand took over the company Gladiator and only the radiators now distinguish the two brands.

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