- Rare, sturdy and powerful model

- Prepared for long-distance rallying by Michel Magnin

- Ingeniously modified without sacrificing its character

- Very good condition, driven regularly

This car was bought by Paul-Émile B around 2003, when it was part of the collection of Dr. Jeanson, an enthusiast who, with his son, had opened a museum at Nogent-L’Artaud to display the cars he had acquired during the 1970s and ‘80s. At the time, it was green, with yellow wheels and a white hood. The papers with it indicated, in Spanish, that it had come from Mar del Plata, in Argentina, and according to a Mestre-et-Blatgé badge, it had been sold new in Buenos Aires. “I asked my friends in Argentina”, Paul-Émile B explained, “and they found some photos of the car when it was in use in Mar de Plata and belonged to the owner of a restaurant!” It is thought to have been ordered in France for the local dealership in Argentina, which would account for its more rugged construction than the standard models, to cope with the poor quality of the roads and tracks in the Latin American country. The chassis was higher, and it had larger-diameter wooden wheels and a big 4.5-litre 4-cylinder engine. It is amusing to note that, after leaving the Brasier factory in Ivry, in the south-east suburbs of Paris, the car crossed the Atlantic, only to return a century later to within a few miles of its place of birth ...

The Richard-Brasier and then Brasier cars, which first appeared in 1902, took their names from their creators Georges Richard and Charles-Henri Brasier. With a four-leaf clover as their logo, they were relatively up-market cars and the company made a name for itself in competition at the start of the century, notably winning the Gordon Bennett Cup in 1904 and 1905.

Paul-Émile B had the idea of competing with this Brasier ‘Torpedo’ in the Peking–Paris rally organised in 2007 by Philip Young. “On top of the difficulty of the rally itself, I set myself the challenge of taking part with the oldest possible car. The Brasier was ideal for this and my mechanic Michel Magnin therefore completely restored it, in a colour more in keeping with its period.” The work was carried out in the spirit of the trip: for example, an additional fuel tank was fitted, as well as an extra brake acting on the transmission, while seeking at all times to respect the period appearance of the car and to make the few modifications as discreet as possible.

For the rally, the numbers of the cars taking part were assigned according to their age, and the Brasier was number 3. “Cars number 1 and 2 soon dropped out, and our Brasier was therefore the oldest car to complete the rally's 14,000km, which included 3000km on sometimes very challenging tracks”, Paul-Émile B recalled. This led to some surprises, as in China, when a huge pothole caused one of the chassis side members to break: it was initially repaired with a length of wood before it could be re-welded. The tyres burst one after another (“We understood too late that the pressures weren’t high enough”, Paul-Émile admitted) and, when the fourth spare tyre gave up the ghost. Magnin repaired it with some wire and inserted an inner tube, enabling the car to cover the 3000km to Moscow, where it could be replaced. “We then drove on to Saint Petersburg in the day, 700km at a stretch, with our brand-new tyre.”

The car went on to compete in other rallies and long-distance events like the Paris–Istanbul or a rally from Belgium to Sardinia and Corsica and back to Paris in 2022, where it was quite at ease on the roads in inland Corsica, with its climbs and descents which would have discouraged any modern car. “It was very powerful”, Paul-Émile B said in conclusion.

In excellent condition with its attractive black paintwork and discreetly added equipment for long-distance rallies, this rugged, powerful and well-maintained car is ideal for the most intrepid adventures or simply a trip out with family or friends.

Photos © Alexis Ruben