Korn et Latil was a French automobile manufacturer established in 1898 at Marsaille. In 1909, after moving to Levallois-Perret being reincorporated and later bankrupt, it was succeeded by Latil.
History
editIn 1897, Auguste Joseph Frederic Georges Latil (1878–1961) patented a constant-velocity joint, inspired by the knee's patella and which allowed wheels used for steering to also be used for driving, now known as front-wheel drive.[1][2][3] This unit (the avant-trail Latil) could be attached to the front of horse-drawn vehicles.[2][4]
Latil and his friend, mechanic Aloïs Korn, started the Korn et Latil Company in Marseille in 1898.[4] Latil patented the design for the front-wheel drive.[4]
The company produced a front-wheel drive voiturette with a 3.5 metric horsepower (2.6 kW) Aster engine. It was designed by Latil.
In 1901, Latil and Korn moved its operations to Levallois-Perret and created the Compagnie Française d'Mecánique et d'Automobiles company to sell the avant-trail Latil in Paris. Despite an initial success, the company was declared bankrupt. By 1905, Charles Blum became an investor and administrator of the company's assets. In 1909, he took over the assets and created a new company called Charles Blum & Cie to manage them.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Les voitures automobiles anciennes et les véhicule anciens de collection, v2". Antiq Broc de La Tour. n.d. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
- ^ a b Roberts, Justin (2022-01-01). "Machinery: Georges Latil and the constant velocity joint". Agriland. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
- ^ "BIRTH OF GEORGES LATIL". ARQUSS. n.d. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
- ^ a b c "HISTOIRE DES VEHICULES LATIL" (in French). Automobiles Industriels Latil. n.d. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
- ^ "Si l'historie de Latil" [If the Latil history...]. La Lettre (in French). No. 162. Paris: Fondation Berliet. 2013.
- David Burgess Wise, The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles