Korn et Latil was a French

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

manufacturer established in 1898 at Marsaille. In 1909, after moving to

Levallois-Perret Levallois-Perret () is a Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department and Île-de-France Regions of France, region of north-central France. It lies on the right bank of the Seine, some from the Kilometre z ...

being reincorporated and later bankrupt, it was succeeded by Latil.

History

In 1897, Auguste Joseph Frederic Georges Latil (1878–1961) patented a

constant-velocity joint A constant-velocity joint (also called a CV joint and homokinetic joint) is a mechanical coupling which allows the shafts to rotate freely (without an appreciable increase in friction or Backlash (engineering), backlash) and compensates for the a ...

, inspired by the knee's

patella The patella (: patellae or patellas), also known as the kneecap, is a flat, rounded triangular bone which articulates with the femur (thigh bone) and covers and protects the anterior articular surface of the knee joint. The patella is found in m ...

and which allowed wheels used for steering to also be used for driving, now known as

front-wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of internal combustion engine, engine and transmission (mechanics), transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel-drive vehicles feature ...

. This unit (the ) could be attached to the front of

horse-drawn vehicle A horse-drawn vehicle is a piece of equipment pulled by one or more horses. These vehicles typically have two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have mostly been replaced by auto ...

s. Latil and his friend, mechanic Aloïs Korn, started the Korn et Latil Company in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

in 1898. Latil patented the design for the front-wheel drive. The company produced a front-wheel drive voiturette with a Aster

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...

. It was designed by Latil. In 1901, Latil and Korn moved its operations to

and created the company to sell the in Paris. Despite an initial success, the company was declared bankrupt. By 1905, Charles Blum became an investor and administrator of the company's assets. In 1909, he took over the assets and created a new company called to manage them.

References

{{Reflist *David Burgess Wise, ''The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles'' Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of France Veteran vehicles