Credits: Article and images by Martin Green @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/12/24/the-breguet-a2-it-does-up-to-40-kilometers-per-hour-and-doesnt-tell-the-time-reprise/
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Just like his great-great-grandfather, Louis Charles Breguet’s mind seemed to work best when challenged. France during World War II offered plenty of challenges, first and foremost because the Nazi puppet government did not allow him to build any planes. It also heavily regulated the sale of gasoline to civilians.
Yet despite this, there was still a market for cars, however modest.
Louis Charles Breguet capitalized on this by creating the A2 automobile. Building these cars allowed him not only to keep his company afloat during the war, but also to keep his workforce employed.
This was not completely unfamiliar territory, as Breguet had created a few luxury six-cylinder cars before World War I. Yet despite being of excellent quality, they did not become the success he had hoped for.
To get around the restricted sale of gasoline, Breguet made the A2 car electric, powered by six 12-volt batteries. Despite this, its performance was more than sufficient, with a top speed of 40 kmh and a range between 70 and 100 kilometers.
The car itself consisted of a simple, central tube chassis upon which the aluminum body work was mounted and welded.
The shape of the A2 is unusual and it was often referred to as an airplane without wings. The car was light, weighing a mere 650 kilograms and offered ample room for the driver and a passenger.
Suicide doors (hinged at the back) made getting in and out of the car easy, and from every aspect, you can say that Breguet was successful in creating a practical car under very difficult circumstances.
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Credits: Article and images by Martin Green @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/12/24/the-breguet-a2-it-does-up-to-40-kilometers-per-hour-and-doesnt-tell-the-time-reprise/