Derby (French car)

Derby was founded in Courbevoie by Bertrand Montet in 1921 to build voiturettes (cyclecars). These were powered by American vee-twin motorcycle engines, which were shortly replaced with Chapuis-Dorniers.[1] In this form, it became a close copy of Citroën's 5CV ("five horsepower"); at £195 for the two-seat roadster, it was competitive with the contemporary Austin Seven (£225).[1]

Shown at the 1923 Olympia Motor Show, Derby failed to gain many sales in Britain. It was there, however, the company displayed the 9 HP, a British-bodied Sports model with wire wheels, priced at £275.[1] This followed the 1923 racer, which had competed at the Brooklands 200 mi (320 km) event.[1] Production peaked at approximately 200 cars a year in 1925, falling to approximately 100 a year between 1928 and 1931.[2]

By 1927, the car was being sold as a Vernon-Derby,[1] taking the name of the marque's sales agent, Vernon Balls.[1] The company offered the 8 HP with four-speed manual transmission in place of the previous three-speed.[1] The next year, the lineup had expanded to three models: the 8 HP sports car (typically with a 1.1 L Chapuis-Dornier four) and two new sporty two-seater sixes, a 1.5 L sidevalve and the 14 HP.[1] The 1.5-litre was replaced the next year by a smaller-displacement 12 HP sidevalve six.[1] Derby showed a two-seater sportsman coupé at the 1930 London Motor Show, the 16 HP, with a 1,845 cc (112.6 cu in) six, which resembled the Bugattis of the era.[1]

Like other marques of the period, Derby involved themselves in motor sport, with driver Douglas Hawkes's front wheel drive Miller with Derby parts (dubbed a Derby-Miller) acting as a testbed and promotional tool; that it was driven by Gwenda Stewart did not hurt publicity, either.[1] Nor did Stewart's results: she took a Land Speed Racing 1.5-litre class record at Montlhéry in 1930, with a mile (1.6 km) at 118.13 mph (190.11 km/h).[1] In 1934, she took another class record in a 1.7-litre Derby, at t 147.79 mph (237.84 km/h), which stood five years.[1] Stewart would also enter the 1934 and 1935 Le Mans, with the recently introduced V8, falling out both times.[1]

Derby ended production with unusual and sophisticated models: 12/50, introduced in 1931, with front wheel drive and fully independent suspension, and a 2-liter V8-powered front wheel drive model, which debuted 1933 (with a chassis price of £525).[1] The company introduced a final rear drive Meadows-engined car before closing its doors in 1936.[1]

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• 1928 1100cc Derby Four
• Company history at RitzSite