Compagnie Nationale Excelsior, more simply known as Excelsior, was a Belgian car manufacturer established by Arthus de Coninck in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

in 1903. The company first started to manufacture cars in 1904. The first models were powered by a two- or four-cylinder Aster engine. In 1907, however, the company made headlines with the Adex, powered by a six-cylinder

side-valve A flathead engine, also known as a sidevalve engine''American Rodder'', 6/94, pp.45 & 93. or valve-in-block engine, is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the Cam-in-block, engine block, instead of in the cyl ...

engine with a capacity of nine litres. This car's chassis could be easily modified for Grand Prix racing. In 1912, the car took second place in the French Grand Prix, and when the

Belgian royal family The monarchy of Belgium is the constitutional and hereditary institution of the monarchical head of state of the Kingdom of Belgium. As a popular monarchy, the Belgian monarch uses the title king/queen of the Belgians and serves as the ...

purchased an Excelsior, the advertising value proved considerable. A second version of the Adex came out in 1920, with a smaller 4767 cc, six-cylinder engine including an

overhead camshaft An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine in which the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustio ...

. The Adex inspired the design of the later Excelsior Albert I, which was powered by a six-cylinder engine with a capacity of 5346 cc. An Excelsior Albert I finished 6th and another 9th in the

1923 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1923 24 Hours of Le Mans, officially the 24 Hours Grand Prix of Endurance (), was the inaugural 24 Hours of Le Mans, Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 26 and 27 May 1923. A strong field of twenty manufacturers entered, all from Fr ...

endurance race. In 1929, the company was sold to its competitor Impéria Automobiles. Until 1932, the company was called Impéria-Excelsior, after which the name Excelsior was dropped.

External links

{{Commons Category, Excelsior (Belgium) vehicles
Excelsior information (in French)
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1903 Car manufacturers of Belgium Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Belgium