Hotchkiss Am 80 Veth Cabriolet

French car, English name, Dutch bodywork. The understated two door body of this car comes from the still existing Arnhem based coachbuilder Veth.

French car, English name, Dutch bodywork. The understated two seater coachwork of this car comes from the still existing Arnhem based coachbuilder Veth. All the more unique because most Hotchkiss cars of that time are fitted with factory bodywork. Yet most of the attention on this car goes to the resilient rubber front bumper, also of Dutch manufacture. It is made by Overman and can absorb a collision of up to 40 km/h. Some insurance companies at the time offer premium discounts to car owners who have such a bumper fitted. It should be noted that bumpers on cars are not yet commonplace in that period. In 1867 the American Benjamin Hotchkiss sets up an arms factory near Paris, in St Denis. Business does not go well, however, and in 1903 he decides to start building cars. The logo with the two crossed cannons refers back to the origins of the factory. This AM 80 with three liter six cylinder engine is the car that definitively establishes the Hotchkiss name as a producer of refined engines that deliver great performance. The balanced crankshaft has seven bearings and vibration damping. In modified form the AM 80 remains in production until Hotchkiss passenger car production ceases in 1955.