Minerva Torpedo Type AC (Belgium) from 1926, six cylinders, 3400 cc, 75 HP, 100 km/h
Minerva was a Belgian firm active from 1902 to 1938 and a manufacturer of luxury automobiles. The company became defunct in 1956.
In 1883, a young Dutchman, Sylvain de Jong (1868–1928) settled in Antwerp, Belgium.
In 1902 De Jong added cars to his production as well with a 6 hp four-cylinder model. In 1903 he founded Société Anonyme Minerva Motors in Berchem (Antwerp). Volume car production began in 1904 with a range of two-, three- and four-cylinder models with chain drive and metal clad wooden chassis and the Minervette cyclecar. The 8-litre Kaiserpreis won the Belgian Circuit des Ardennes race in 1907.
Charles S Rolls (of future Rolls-Royce fame) was a Minerva dealer in England selling the 2.9-litre 14 hp (10 kW). The most important market for the manufacturer remained England, where at £105 the small 636 cc single-cylinder Minervette was the cheapest car on the market, followed by the Netherlands and France.
