Cars
1919. And then came the Helica, a hopeless challenge…
Marc Leyat was an aeronautical engineer who unveiled the Elicicle in 1913. He later corrected some of its flaws and proposed a modified Sport model in 1926 which recorded an extraordinary speed of 171 km/hour at Montlhery.
Marc Leyat unveiled the Elicicle in 1913. He then spent the WWII years working as an aeronautical engineer, an experience that only served to strengthen his firm belief that aircraft technology could be exploited on the roads.
He began to consider the possibility of producing something that could be sold, and so set to work correcting some of the flaws of his original experiment, the Elicicle. He lowered the engine so as to get a better center of gravity, and he replaced the complex and costly radial engine with simpler types, like the Harley, MAG and ABC Flat-twin (two-cylinder) engines.
A Harley engine. The other engines used between 1919 and 1925 were the MAG and ABC Flat-twin types. Instead, the 1913 prototype was powered by a Scorpion (radial engine).
