Sénéchal was a French automobile manufacturer between 1921 and 1929.

The founder

Robert Sénéchal (1892-1985) was a racing driver, an aviation pioneer and an industrialist. He was also the grandfather of the journalist and motor-sport innovator

Patrick Zaniroli Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick or ...

The business

In 1921 Sénéchal founded the automotive business that bore his name at

Courbevoie Courbevoie () is a commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Department of the Île-de-France region of France. It is in the suburbs of the city of Paris, from the center of Paris. The centre of Courbevoie is situated from the city limits of Par ...

. The origins of the business went back to the "Eclair" cyclecar business in which Sénéchal had briefly been involved. Sénéchal was himself a celebrity in the automotive world, and his cycle cars were an immediate success. It was impossible to satisfy demand for the vehicles from the manufacturer's small premises at Courbevoie, and Sénéchal therefore negotiated a deal with

Chenard & Walcker Chenard-Walcker, also known as Chenard & Walcker, was a French automobile and commercial vehicle manufacturer from 1898 to 1946. Chenard-Walcker then designed and manufactured trucks marketed via Peugeot sales channels until the 1970s. The facto ...

, who had no model of their own in the cyclecar class and from 1923 agreed to take on the manufacturing of the Sénéchal models. As the economy grew the cyclecar boom that had driven the earlier "Eclair" and "Sénéchal" businesses, and Sénéchal moved up a notch to become a producer of light cars in the voiturette class. In 1925 the name of the business changed from ''Sénéchal'' to ''Société Industrielle et Commerciale'', and the business was taken over by

.Harald Linz, Halwart Schrader: ''Die Internationale Automobil-Enzyklopädie.'' United Soft Media Verlag, München 2008, . Voiturettes continued to be produced, powered by Chenard & Walcker engines, until 1929. Robert Sénéchal himself suffered a serious racing accident in 1931, after which he moved away from the world of motor racing and automobile manufacturer, embarking instead on a career as an aerial photographer.

The cars

The company manufactured small open-topped two seaters. Engines were bought in from specialists such as

Ruby A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum (aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapp ...

, and, less frequently,

Train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often k ...

Chapuis-Dornier Chapuis-Dornier was a French manufacturer of proprietary engines for automobiles from 1904 to 1928 in Puteaux near Paris. Between 1919 and 1921 it displayed a prototype automobile, but it was never volume produced.Linz, Schrader: ''Die große Automo ...

By the time of the 19th Paris Motor Show in October 1924, the Sénéchal range comprised two

cyclecars A cyclecar was a type of small, lightweight and inexpensive car manufactured in Europe and the United States between 1910 and the early 1920s. The purpose of cyclecars was to fill a gap in the market between the motorcycle and the car. A key c ...

. These were a 6 HP model with a 972cc engine and a 7HP with an 1100 cc power unit. The two of them sat respectively on wheelbases of and , and were priced by the manufacturer at 12,600 francs and 14,900 francs. There was again a Sénéchal stand at the 22ndMotor Show in October 1928, now advertising two voiturettes fitted with

engines of 7HP (1100 cc) and 9HP (1500 cc). However, this was Sénéchal's final motor show appearance, as production came to an end during 1929.

External links

GTÜ Gesellschaft für Technische Überwachung mbH
(retrieved 9 March 2013)

Reading list

* Harald Linz, Halwart Schrader: ''Die Internationale Automobil-Enzyklopädie.'' United Soft Media Verlag, München 2008, . * George Nick Georgano (Chefredakteur): ''The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile.'' Volume 3: ''P–Z.'' Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, . (English) * George Nick Georgano: ''Autos. Encyclopédie complète. 1885 à nos jours.'' Courtille, Paris 1975. (French)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Senechal Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of France Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1921