[alfa] Re: qualified defense of British cars (limited Alf content, but some)

["John Hertzman" <johnhertzman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In a general discussion of British cars George Graves (in AD V10-0102) writes that "The British and the Italians are the two countries which invented the sports car." Please excuse my quibble, but France deserves the credit. The history of motor sports prior to WW I was almost entirely French, starting with inter-city road races (Paris-Barcelona, Paris-Vienna, etc) contested at frequently lethal speeds by cars with no size limitations. Because these cars quickly developed into behemoths with little suitability for practical use the editor of the Paris magazine "L'Auto" conceived and sponsored a concurrent competition for relatively small cars, or voiturettes, leading to the development of relatively small, relatively high performance cars which could be successfully driven long distances on ordinary roads. One of these, the "King Alfonso" Hispano-Suiza, designed by the Swiss engineer Marc Birkigt and built in Barcelona from 1910 on (and later in a Paris suburb, Bois-Colombes) is generally considered the first-ever production sports car and the antecedent of the several excellent French sports cars of the period between the wars. 
 
Cheers
 
John H.
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