Did you notice in last week's quiz the apparent absence of electric lights? As our quizwinner suggested: "Maybe the crew survived the nighttime part of the 24-hour race by the illumination of the driver's cigarette?!" But what was it? From the few answers we received almost all mentioned Villard. It's true, the Villard was almost identical to our quiz car, but as we mentioned in our earlier text: "the company that made it started in the early twenties and when they ceased production, they were taken over by another manufacturer". Our quiz car was the French 3-wheeler Colombe, built from 1923 until 1925 by Automobiles Colombe in Colombes, Departement Seine. Colombe was taken over by Villard who went on producing it until 1930. Only one answer was correct. Alan Spencer wrote: "It's a French Colombe, which featured a 2-stroke Bechir et Colin engine driving the single front wheel. Colombe existed as a company from 1921 till about 1925. In 1924, a Colombe won the 350 cc class in the Six Jours d'Hiver trial. In 1925, Villard took over manufacture of the Colombe cycle car." Well done, Alan! With this this third win you have now become both a PreWar and a PostWar jury member.
(photo from 'French Vintage Cars' by John Bolster 1964; text Rutger Booy)