Aug 14 2023

Mystery Foto #32 Solved: Image from the Helck Family Collection- 11.7-litre Hispano-Suiza Type 8-engined Sadi-Spéciale in 1926


From the Helck Family Collection is this very challenging Mystery Foto of a one-of-a-kind racer found in a box of unique and rare cars.

Identify;

  • The unique race car

The 11.7-litre Hispano-Suiza Type 8-engined Sadi-Spéciale

  • The man it was built for and his accomplishments

Built for the French Gordon Bennett aviator Joseph Sadi-Lecointe (the same engine that had powered his Nieuport-Delage world altitude record airplane in 1924.)

  • The driver (different from the man it was built for)

Paul Guérin

  • The race date

The photo shows it at the Gometz-Le-Châtel Hill Climb in November 21st, 1926, with Paul Guérin winning with a time of 33.8 seconds.

Hint; The car's only known race was the Gometz-Le-Châtel Hill Climb outside of Paris.

Comments (5)

Congrats to Lee Stohr and Professor Andrea Fedi for identifying the Sadi-Spéciale.

Kudos to Lee Stohr for  documenting his answers with super jpegs.

Greg O. and Howard Kroplick


The Sadi-Spéciale in 1926


Comments

Aug 11 2023 David Miller 12:45 AM

This could be an Alfa Romeo that raced at the Gometz le Chatel hill climb on October 23rd 1932.  It may have been built for Enzo Ferrari to race but the birth of his son during that year influenced him to retire from competing.  Enzo Ferrari founded the Scuderia Ferrari racing team that raced cars that were built Alfa Romeo.  By 1947 Ferrari began building his own cars.  The replacement driver might’ve been Carlo Maria Pintacuda.

Aug 13 2023 Lee Stohr 12:18 AM

1926 Sadi Speciale driven by Guerin.  One photo exists on Gallica, but it’s not this one. Very interesting.

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Aug 13 2023 Lee Stohr 11:00 AM

Additional information from Sylvain Dumora; this was a Hispano-engined special constructed for the aviator Joseph Sadi-Lecointe.  It also appeared at Montlhery.
The hillclimb was Nov. 21, 1926.

Aug 13 2023 Lee Stohr 11:15 PM

You can see some similarities between a Nieuport Delage racing airplane flown by Sadi-LeCointe and the automobile, both using Hispano motors.

image
Aug 14 2023 Andrea Fedi 11:14 AM

The photo shows a Sadi Spéciale with a Hispano-Suiza Type 8-engine. The car was built for French aviator Joseph Sadi-Lecointe (1891-1944). The same engine had helped his Nieuport-Delage plane set the world altitude record in 1924. The race at Gometz-Le-Châtel took place in November 1926, and the Sadi Speciale’s driver, Paul Guérin, did the fastest time of the day.

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