Lot details Registration No: SV 7483 Chassis No: 12981 Mot Expiry: None
Although his surname had been familiar to French car buyers since 1897, Georges Richard's decision to start a new company some eight years later saw him leave the `Richard' marque (by then `Richard-Brasier') in the hands of others. Renting a factory building on the Quai Nationale in Puteaux, he initially settled on a one model policy - hence the `Unic' moniker. The resultant two-cylinder 10CV design was well received but a desire for more sales saw Richard change his mind and introduce an additional four-cylinder machine not long afterwards. An attempt to push further upmarket with a six-cylinder offering in 1909 was unsuccessful but by then `Unic' had begun to develop a reputation for affordable durability. New for 1908, the monobloc four-cylinder 12/14 chassis became a firm favourite with taxi fleets and suitably updated remained in production for twenty years. Indeed, Unic taxis were not only to be found chugging around Paris but also on the streets of London too! Based around a sturdy ladder frame chassis equipped with all-round leaf-sprung suspension and rear wheel drum brakes, the 12CV boasted such niceties as shaft-drive and a load friendly four-speed manual gearbox. Dividing its attentions between passenger and commercial vehicles up until World War Two, Unic continued as a truck manufacturer thereafter.
Reportedly dating from 1914, this Unic 12/16hp Type G9 was written off by an insurance company following its involvement in a fire some little time ago. Bearing in mind its separate chassis construction and the fact that the damage appears to have been principally confined to the bodywork (since discarded), H&H has decided to make an exception to its entry policy on insurance write offs and allow `SV 7843' to go under the hammer. Offered for sale as a rolling chassis and self-evidently in need of restoration, not to mention new coachwork, this Unic is accompanied by an old style green logbook and V5 registration document.
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