Marmon with a V16 engine: the car that ruined the company (8 photos + 1 video)

In the automotive history of the United States, the Marmont firm occupies a very place of honor. Despite a short century, the company managed to establish itself as a manufacturer of high-end cars advanced design. The most impressive and famous creation of the brand became Marmon Sixteen - one of the world's first cars with an engine V16.





The history of the firm of the Marmont brothers began with the construction in 1902 year of the revolutionary overhead valve 4-cylinder V-shaped engine 20 hp type In 1904, the Marmons organized the production his first car - Marmon Model A. Things were going well and through decade under the Marmon brand produced luxury cars with a volume engine up to 9.5 liters. And these were the most technical perfect cars of those years: they were equipped with aluminum bodies, independent suspensions, electric starter and lighting.

Marmon Sixteen Convertible



Two-door convertible with a body from the studio LeBaron





In the mid-1920s, the company produced an extensive line vehicles with 6- and 8-cylinder engines, with three sizes wheelbase and 42 equipment options! In 1926 the Marmont engineers started designing the flagship of the lineup - Marmon V16 sixteen.

Marmon V16 engine



As the name suggests, the central feature of the new The car was a 16-cylinder engine. It was developed by talented engineers Howard Marmon and George Williams. In just four years they created a unique, all-aluminum engine. His valvular the mechanism had an upper location and was driven from the lower camshaft through pushers. With a working volume of 8049 cm3, the engine produced impressive for its time - 200 hp At the same time, it turned out to be very light (only 400 kg), quiet and high-torque. Attached to the motor synchronized 3-speed manual transmission.

The luxurious interior of the car was made very carefully and efficiently.



The chassis design featured proven engineering solutions: spar frame, rear-wheel drive, spring suspension of all wheels and drum brakes with cable drive and vacuum booster. AT in accordance with the fashion of those years, it was possible to mount a body from any third party studio. The factory version of the Marmon Sixteen could be equipped with eight body styles, among them: a 7-seater limousine, 5-seat sedan and coupe, 4-seat phaeton and 2-seat convertible. In addition any body could be equipped with almost any available equipment - from genuine leather seats to upscale radio receiver.

By the standards of its time, the Marmon Sixteen was a machine. quite dynamic: from 0-100 km / h it accelerated in 54 seconds, and maximum speed reached 160 km / h



Marmon Sixteen came out quite impressive. His debut is scheduled for November 1930 and everything went to the fact that the world's first car with The 16-cylinder engine will carry the Marmon emblem. However, unexpectedly for everyone, in December 1929, Cadillac introduced its 16-cylinder car - Cadillac V16. Say that they hit Marmont a serious blow, to say nothing.



In fact, the early debut of the Cadillac V16 put an end to the Marmon Sixteen. AT At that time, the economic crisis was raging in the United States, and the market for luxury, super-expensive cars already significantly shrank. And here also a competitor represented by the GM concern, which could easily sell its car at a loss.

The wheelbase of the car was 3683 mm, respectively, there was plenty of space on the rear "sofa"



Nevertheless, in 1931, the debut of the Marmon Sixteen took place. Like car was expected to cost unimaginably expensive - price range located from 5200 to 6100 dollars, depending on the body. AT variations with a particularly chic, custom-made body, the price could rise to 12 thousand (about $240 thousand at the current exchange rate)! In general, despite the fact that, in terms of the totality of characteristics, the Marmon Sixteen surpassed its competitor, it failed in the market. Less than 400 cars were built: 223 units in 1931, 111 in 1932 and 56 in 1933. All this led to bankruptcy of the Marmont firm in 1933.