1923 Zedel Torpedo 15 cv Type P Lot n° 23

Elegant Torpedo Heavy-duty Type P Formerly the 4th largest French manufacturer! Vehicle sold without a vehicle registration document Chassis: 2885 The Zedel company was founded by Ernest Zürcher and Herman Luthi in 1896 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, and specialises in the manufacture of motorcycle engines and spark plugs. Its customers being mainly French, it decided 10 years later to move to Pontarlier in order to avoid heavy export taxes. A new automobile factory is thus created there. Until the First World War, business was flourishing and Zedel offered a wide range of models. In 1924, Gérôme Donnet, who had made a fortune in the manufacture of seaplanes for the French Navy, wanted to diversify into the automobile sector and bought the Pontarlier factory, which was then in financial difficulties. The brand was thus renamed Donnet-Zedel. In 1926 the company acquired the Vinot & Deguingand factory in Nanterre and opened an ultramodern plant in 1928, the vehicles leaving this production unit would simply bear the name Donnet. The outdated Zedel factory in Pontarlier closed its doors in 1929. The great crisis of the same year will plunge the company into serious financial difficulties which will lead to its bankruptcy in 1934. The factory was then bought by Fiat, which set up its French subsidiary Simca. Bought in the 1970s, this car would be, according to the correspondence exchanged between the owner and the Club Donnet Zedel in the 1980s, a unique version with Torpedo bodywork at Barry's in Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1923. Again, this is a rare Type P with a large displacement that differs from the 11 hp models by its larger dimensions. Another example that we would have lost track of was also built as a pram or city coupé at the same period. Used for a long time for weddings and other vintage car gatherings, this car was finally stored in a dry place and on the road about ten years ago. Complete and with a nice patina, we were able to make sure that its mechanics were not blocked. WITHOUT RESERVE