Beschreibung
Malicet Et Blin (M. A. B.) was a French manufacturer of bicycles, automobiles, automotive components and, ultimately, aero engines, from 1890 to 1925.
Founded in 1890 by Paul Malicet and Eugène Blin in Aubervilliers, a north east suburb of Paris, M. A. B initially made bicycles before expanding into the motor industry in 1897, producing components such as chassis and steering gear, along with various accessories.
One of the leaders in the nascent French automotive industry at the time, M. A. B initially produced a Vis-à-vis (face to face) four seater with a four cv (horsepower) engine, and by 1903 M. A. B was making its own complete cars badged Malicet & Blin. The range included four cv, six cv and eight cv models powered by a single cylinder engine. Production was limited, though, however M. A. B also variously supplied components, chassis, and complete cars to Alatac, Bridgwater Motor Company (aka CCC), Ernst, Excelsior, Eysink, Garage Moderne, Ivor, La Torpille, Lucerna, Marlborough, Mutel, Sigma, and Tuar.
In 1914 M. A. B also became involved in building aircraft engines at its French factory, manufacturing power units for the Sopwith 1½ Strutter and the seaplane fighter of Louis Schreck's Franco-British Aviation.
Paul Malicet died in October 1923, however the business continued until 1925.
Eligible for the S. F. Edge Trophy Race at Goodwood, this magnificent 1908 M. A. B Saunders Aero Engined Special is unique in Australia and one of only a handful of similar fire-spitting Edwardian racers in existence around the world.
The early years of motor racing are known as the ?Heroic Age?.
It was a time when the cars dwarfed their drivers, spat flames from open exhausts and snorted smoke, raced hell-for-leather on crude, usually unsurfaced roads, often from point-to-point, all for the sake of glory and the love of speed. Back then, more than a century ago, the quest for ever greater speed saw many of these leviathans converted to run huge capacity aero engines originally used in or intended for aircraft.
