Black Salmson S4-61 Coupe, France: four cylinders, 1730 cc, 51 HP. Top speed: 130 km/h

The Salmson S4 is a mid-size executive-level car introduced as the Salmson S4 C by Société des Moteurs Salmson in Autumn 1932. It was the manufacturer’s principal and often sole model for the next twenty years.

The car’s 1465 cc four-cylinder engine initially placed it in the 8CV car tax band, which would have placed it alongside lower-priced cars such as the Peugeot 301 and the Renault Monaquatre, but the Salmson’s levels of technical sophistication and equipment, as well as its price, indicated that it was intended for a more aspirational clientele than these comparably sized cars. Within a few years the S4’s four-cylinder engine had in any event increased in size to a point where the car sat in the 10CV car tax band, which moved the S4 up half a class as well as providing customers with a more convincing level of performance.

The engines grew and the range widened. A 2.3-litre variant, the Salmson S4 E joined the less powerful car (by now itself having evolved into the Salmson S4 DA) in October 1937. The war disrupted production, which probably stopped completely after a major bomb attack conducted by the British on 3 March 1942. Post war production resumed (or continued), albeit at feeble levels, of the four-cylinder (10CV) Salmson S4-61 till April 1952, by which date production of the 13CV Salmson S4 E had already come to an end.

 

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