Artwork from Belgium
The fact that the Dutchman Sylvain de Jong, of all people, was the founder of the most famous Belgian car brand is just a nice footnote in automotive history. De Jong started out as a bicycle manufacturer in Antwerp in 1897, and from 1900 he built motorcycles with a Swiss single-cylinder engine. As early as 1903, he founded NV Minerva Motors, which soon became the largest Belgian automobile manufacturer. By 1907, de Jong was so successful that he no longer had to produce bicycles and motorcycles, but could concentrate on luxury automobiles; a certain Charles Rolls took over the Minerva agency in England, and Henry Ford was among the customers in the USA. In 1908, Minerva secured a licence for the double-slider engines of the American Charles Yale Knight, which proved to be a good decision, as these engines ran more smoothly than any other engine of the time.
After the First World War, Minerva was able to resume production quickly, and new models with four and six cylinders were launched in rapid succession. Minerva was one of the most innovative manufacturers, introducing electric starters and servo-brakes early on, building the engines as a monobloc – and the quality was at least as high as that of the best-known names of the time. In 1925, around 3,000 vehicles were sold, and by 1928 Minerva had almost 7,000 employees; but in the same year, the founder Sylvain de Jong died. When the Belgians presented the model AL with a completely new 6.6-litre eight-cylinder engine in 1930, the world was in the middle of a financial crisis, and sales at Minerva went downhill, although the brand was always able to compete with Rolls-Royce, Isotta-Fraschini or Hispano-Suiza.
The inline eight-cylinder engine produced 120 hp, which was remarkable at the time. However, these valveless Knight-Schieber engines also had disadvantages: they needed almost as much oil as petrol – and they were not suitable for higher speeds. That’s why they were really only suitable for leisurely trips, which Minerva tried to compensate for with the highest level of luxury – and a golden radiator mascot. The first owner of the Minerva AL that we are showing here, chassis number #80105, also had plenty of spending money: Nancy Reynolds Bagley was the daughter of the tobacco industrialist R.J. Reynolds. She ordered a convertible sedan from Rollston, and the New York coachbuilder fulfilled her wish in a manner that was both conservative and elegant. Around 50 of these ALs were built, and 12 of them are thought to still exist. Broad Arrow is auctioning off this vehicle in mid-February, with a reserve of at least $400,000.
After the Second World War, Minerva built Land Rovers under licence for the Belgian army. Other long-forgotten brands can also be found in our archives.
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