ELIZALDE TYPES

TYPE 29

The Type 29 was premièred at the Paris Motor Show in October 1919 and one year later at the Engineering Exhibition held in the Ice Palace of Madrid. It replaced the Super 20 Type and featured a new 3.3-litre four-cylinder engine with cylinder head-mounted valves, probably a first-ever in the automotive industry: it was built using a bronze alloy, with a coefficient of expansion similar to that of the cast-iron engine bloc and a heat dissipation capacity that out-performed the metals used at that time. The bronze cylinder head will go down in history for its application in the Type 48, although it was first fitted in the Type 29.

«Ce dispositif permet d’obtenir un rendement très élevé du moteur sans avoir à craindre d’auto-allumage», wrote the French specialised press. «La conséquence immédiate de cette disposition est que le moteur 4 cylindres de 85 d’alésage et de 150 de course donne plus de 95 chevaux au frein et cela pour des essais de plusieurs heures». Although according to the factory’s internal report, «the engine, which was put through several hours of functional tests, maintained a constant 95 hp to the brake with no pre-ignition (automatic combustion) phenomena or other issues», more recent data from the Fundación Elizalde rate its performance as 65 hp for a total displacement of 3,510 cc.

The French journalist Charles Faroux test-drove one for several months on loan from his friend Arturo Elizalde, and in the test results published in La Vie Automobile he refers to a consumption of «16 a 18 litres aux 100 kilomètres, suivant le profil des routes parcourues, et surtout suivant les moyennes atteintes». Just like the Reina Victoria Eugenia – another Elizalde new development from that same year – it features a four-wheel braking system. The two-seater racing version, called the 291, made a successful racing début in the ascent of los Brucs and notched up an outstanding record that included victories in uphill races along the Rabassada and Mata de Mataró roads. Some of the brand’s advertising material described it as the «Elizalde 18/30 hp racing car».

It was sold with de luxe limousine, convertible-sport, torpedo-sport and grand tourer bodyworks, as well as a Conduite intérieure vehicle. Apparently, or at least in Barcelona, the Type 29 enjoyed a certain patronage by the local authorities: the Civil Governor owned a Conduite Intérieure unit; the Military Governor also drove one, although there are no data about its configuration, and mention is made of a deluxe limousine in the City Council’s vehicle fleet. The price of the chassis without the tyres was 30,000 pesetas in 1922; this was slashed to 25,000 pesetas in 1923. The Type 29 was delisted from the catalogue the following year and was replaced by the Type 30, with practically identical characteristics, barring slight variations.