- Ballot (automobile)
Ballot was a French
automobile manufacturer who made cars between 1921 and 1932.The Ballot brothers, Edouard and Maurice, founded their company in 1905. Before the
World War I they manufactured automobile and marine engines. The company was re-founded as Etablissements Ballot SA in 1910.Edouard Ballot was well-known as a designer of reliable engines. He helped
Ettore Bugatti in developing his first engines.After the World War I, the company entered motor racing with a straight-eight cylinder 4.9 litre car for the 1921French Grand Prix . As well as racing engines, the company made a range of road engines which were fitted to their own production cars.The first road car was a 2 litre tourer called "Ballot 2 LS". In 1923 "Ballot 2 LT" and a sport version, "Ballot 2 LTS" followed. From 1927, eight cylinder engines were used.
In 1931 the company was taken over by
Hispano-Suiza . Swift decline followed: the last model was practically a Hispano-Suiza and only the chassis was provided by Ballot.Ballot closed down in 1932.porting successes
A Ballot vehicle driven by René Thomas finished second in the 1919
Targa Florio and second in the 1920Indianapolis 500 .Ralph DePalma , an American national champion and winner of the 1915 Indianapolis 500, finished second in the 1921French Grand Prix and French driverJules Goux finished third. Goux went on to win the inauguralItalian Grand Prix at Brescia, Italy driving a Ballot.Main models
*2LS : sports car. 4 cylinder 1944 cc, twin overhead camshaft, 4 valves per cylinder engine.
*2LT: touring car. Single cam variant of the 2LS.
*2LTS: variant of the 2LT, with higher tuned engine.
*RH: introduced in 1927 with 8 cylinder, single overhead cam, 2874 cc engine.
*RH3: 1929-1932. RH with 305cc engine.
*HS26: model introduced after the Hispano Suiza takeover. Also known as the Hispano Junior. 4580 cc six cylinder engineExternal links
*http://vea.qc.ca/vea/marques1/ballot.htm
* [http://ddavid.com/formula1/french1921.htm Memories of the 1921 French Grand Prix relating to the Ballot racer]
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