Our first thought, when we hear Leon Bollée;the famous three wheeled car (from around 1900), with its air-cooled vertical cylinder, mostly hot tube ignition; not the most reliable car but it is quite something to see. But this was of course not all that was ever produced under the name Leon Bollée.
Seeking through the catalogue of the upcoming Richard Edmonds auction, we found this fantastic Leon Bollee truck. It still requires some work, but it will be a lovely vehicle to drive in its original condition after only a mechanical restoration.
The Leon Bollée factory in 1929 was different than how it was in the early years; in 1925 Morris Motors ltd. took over the production name and the factory in Le Mans (where it also was based originally). They did so to improve their sales in France. It was hard for the English company to successfully introduce their cars to the French people. Using the old French name and the engine of a Hotchkiss, it was their hope to make this work. The body and chassis were French made, but all controlled by Englishman. Unfortunately, it still was not a great success. Which is also the reason why they stopped with the business in 1933.
Looking at the photo of the MLB12 truck, you can clearly see the typical French lines of that era. The story that it was preserved in the cave of a vineyard makes it even better. Let's hope it will be driving through the countryside as well in the short future.
The auction will be this weekend, June 17th in Allington, UK.