Two brilliant machines from the 1910s that starred at Pebble this year ...

[Wouter Melissen]

Each year the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is one of the absolute highlights on our calendar and the 2011 edition was certainly no exception. Before 2012 arrives, we wanted to take another look back by highlighting two very early machines that starred on the famous golf club's 18th fairway in August.
The first was part of a Mercedes, Benz and Mercedes-Benz feature that marked the 125th anniversary of the motor car. This Mercedes 18/100 Grand Prix had been meticulously prepared for the 1914 French Grand Prix. Equipped with a sophisticated four-valve head and boasting a relative small displacement, the Mercedes' four cylinder engine was the first that could rev over 3,000 rpm. No fewer than five were entered in the prestigious race where it faced rivals from Italy, France and Great Britain in a rather more peaceful encounter than the looming War. Christian Lautenschlager headed a 1-2-3 Mercedes victory in this very example. One of the sister cars was later sold to the United States and driven to Mercedes' only Indy 500 win by Ralph DePalma. The design was so sophisticated that in modified form, the surviving cars were raced well into the 1920s. Our feature car is one of three survivors and has been meticulously restored to its French Grand Prix winning configuration. Of a slightly earlier vintage is this Hispano Suiza Alfonso XIII, built in 1912. Named after the Spanish King and based on the 1910 Coupe de l'Auto winning racer, the small Hispano is generally considered to be the world's first sports car. Only slightly more civilised than the competition car it was based on, most were fitted with simple tourer bodies in par with the light weight design of the chassis. The example shown at Pebble is unusual in that it sports a slightly more luxurious body complete with a bullet-shaped nose that was more commonly used on the Hispano racing cars. The Jaquot Torpedo was one of the earliest participants of this year's Tour d'Elegance that traditionally precedes the Concours d'Elegance.

Enjoy the links:

1911 - 1912 Hispano Suiza Alfonso XIII Jaquot Torpedo - Images, Specifications and Information

1914 Mercedes 18/100 Grand Prix - Images, Specifications and Information

[Cyco]

What are the little 'spigots' on top of the engine in the last photo of the Hispano Suzia?

Stunning workmanship on the whole car!

[Matra et Alpine]

hmmm, the T-shaped cast chambers of the early H-S meant the valve adjustment was done through the access ports with brass caps you can see above each valve.
I'd never seen the "spigot" before and as it's above the inlet I wonder if it was for adjustment without needing to dismantle ? Cant think why other than to cope with different fuel qualities in the 10s ?

EDIT: aha, had a thought, but not sure why not rigged with one lever. It may well be to decompress the cylinders by keeping inlet valve open while cranking or shutting the engine off ? Common on diesel, cant think WHY you'd do it on an ignition car. but we are talking early days

[pimento]

Could also be something along the lines of having per cylinder adjustment for air/fuel mix due to being unable to construct intakes and whatnot to close enough accuracies to mean that a single adjustment is all that's necessary. But that's just a guess and doesn't explain why the similar ports on the exhaust side don't have the taps on them... Weird.

[jcp123]

The Hispano is a stunningly sleek car for its era...really a beautiful design and an incredible restoration..