Registration No: BP 217
Chassis No: 6006
MOT: Exempt

• Entered from a large private collection
• Coil / magneto ignition, conventional pedals, uprated transmission, improved fueling and cooling systems etc
• Elegant four-seater coachwork with canopy top
• A proven and well developed 'London to Brighton' runner

A successful entrepreneur and intrepid adventurer, G. Adolphe Clement progressed from making bicycles through to cars, airships and aeroplanes as well as participating in numerous of the earliest inter-city and inter-country automobile races. Instrumental in the survival of Panhard et Levassor and the establishment of Austin and Talbot, autumn 1903 saw him sign away the commercial rights to his surname with the sale of Clement-Gladiator and found a new marque, Bayard (albeit ‘Constructeur A. Clement’ appeared prominently on the nascent concern’s vehicles and in any associated literature). The ‘Bayard’ name was a tribute to the Chevalier who had saved the town of Mezieres – site of one of Clement’s factories – from the Duc de Nassau in 1521. The irrepressible industrialist later changed his surname to Clement-Bayard and indeed the first airship to cross The English Channel was Clement-Bayard II. A ‘Voiture Legere’ manufacturer, Bayard used far fewer proprietary components than many of its peers and soon became synonymous with advanced design. Announced in October 1903, the Bayard AC2K (Adolphe Clement) model featured a pressed steel, channel-section chassis, semi-elliptic leaf-sprung suspension, expanding rear wheel brakes and shaft drive to a bevel axle. Cooled by a gilled, tube type radiator slung ahead of the hollow front axle, the sophisticated twin-cylinder 1.6-litre T-head engine boasted an automatic carburettor, water pump, coil / magneto ignition, dual camshafts, interchangeable valves and exhaust pressure-fed lubrication. Operated by a right-hand quadrant change mounted alongside the transmission brake lever, the gearbox contained three forward speeds and a reverse gear. Available in bare chassis guise, customers had the option of paying a modest supplement for handsome factory Rear Entrance Tonneau coachwork. Reputedly capable of over 30mph and praised for its reliability, speed and hill-climbing, the Bayard AC2K was also marketed in England as the Talbot CT2K (Clement Talbot). Information held at the Contemporary Archive Centre in Fontainebleau, France indicates that 1904 Bayard (Clement-Bayard) chassis numbers ran from 6003 to 6303.

First UK road registered in West Sussex or so its ‘BP 217’ registration number would imply, chassis 6006 has previously been dated by the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain to 1904 under Certificate Number 1627. Seemingly highly original and thus covered in ‘A. Clement’ detailing from the dashboard-mounted oiler through to its sump plate, hubcaps, side / rear ‘AC’ treadplates and kickplates, the four-seater sports genuine chassis, engine and carrosserie plaques (the latter for body number 2520). Extensively restored whilst in the care of renowned, West Country collector Leslie Thomas Esq., he is understood to have added such niceties as a starter motor, throttle pedal, battery cut-off, windscreen wiper and cooling fan etc not to mention thoroughly overhauling the mechanicals and cosmetics. Subsequently belonging to Paul Tillion Esq, ‘BP 217’ entered the current family ownership in 2011. A multiple participant, and finisher, on the London to Brighton Run, the Rear Entrance Tonneau has lain idle as part of a large private collection in recent years. As such, it will require recommissioning prior to road use (albeit the engine turns freely). Again thanks to Mr Thomas’s ingenuity, the windscreen folds up into a recess within the canopy roof which in turn can be lowered to facilitate transport. It is thought that just eight ‘2K’ cars (be they badged as Bayard, Clement-Bayard, Clement-Talbot or Talbot) are known to the VCC. Surely worthy of a place in another collection, this appealing Veteran has much to recommend it.

For more information, please contact:
Damian Jones
damian.jones@handh.co.uk
07855 493737