Eysink 10/12-hp

This is a very special piece of Dutch heritage: the only surviving automobile from the Amersfoort brand Eysink, the Netherlands oldest car manufacturer.

This is a very special piece of Dutch heritage: the only surviving automobile of the Amersfoort brand Eysink, the Netherlands oldest car manufacturer. Thanks to a series of coincidences, this car has been preserved. The car, purchased in 1912, was traded in again in 1917 because it turned out not to be reliable enough. It was then put into storage at the garage, where it stood for a long time. The garage owner did use the car for vintage car gatherings and festive occasions, such as during the Liberation in 1945. In the photo behind the car, it can therefore be seen during a visit by Queen Juliana to Zeeland. After restoration in the 1980s, the car spent a long period in a museum in Goes. In 2007 the Eysink 10/12 HP was donated by the municipality to the Louwman Museum. Eysink was founded in 1886 by Dirk-Hendrik (Dick) Eysink and initially produced bicycles and motorcycles. In 1897 his sons August and Menno started producing cars. The prototype still had a Benz engine, while the later production models had an in-house engine. This also made Eysink the first Dutch car manufacturer to produce its own engines. Eysink cars were exported, among other places, to the Dutch East Indies and to England, where several were used as taxis in London. Eysink built fairly large and expensive cars, but American competitors were able to produce cheaper cars. Even though Eysink then switched to smaller models, it was too late. In 1919 car production ceased; motorcycles continued to be made until the mid-1950s. Approximately 330 Eysink cars were built.