Belgian circulation title

Exceptional state of preservation and singular history
Unique model and the oldest Sizaire-Berwick known
First owner from 1913 to 1989, never offered for sale since its origin
French opponent of the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost

The name Frederick William Berwick comes up from time to time in the history of the London motor trade. Indeed, this strong personality was well known and respected for his business acumen and his ability to achieve the impossible. In 1912, he ran his car company, F.W. Berwick and Co. Ltd. in the heart of London. He was ambitious and had secured the support of Alexander Keiller of Dundee Marmalade fame, a rich man who had owned several Bugattis in his lifetime, including a 35 TC (#4849 - registered NAE 194) which was later owned by the actor Charles Mortimer. Berwick had strong ideas about what constituted a good car, and wanted to see them put into practice.
On the other side of the Channel, the Sizaire brothers (Maurice and Georges), with their friend Louis Naudin, were trailblazers with an enviable international reputation for Georges' driving skills on the one hand and for introducing and applying principles that were not even suspected by others at the time. These innovations included fully compensated servo brakes, rack and pinion steering with automatic wear adjustment, four-wheel independent suspension, suspension using unequal length wishbones and the use of ball joints for suspension and steering components!
As a good matchmaker, the famous Paris-based motoring journalist W.F. Bradley organised the meeting in 1912 between Berwick and the Sizaire brothers. The discussions were quickly concluded with the idea of designing a prestigious car that would have the audacity to outdo the pinnacle of British production at the time, the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. On 20 June 1913, Sizaire-Berwick (France) Limited was registered and domiciled in Piccadilly, England with a factory at 43 rue Louis Blanc in Courbevoie. Manufactured in France, 80% of the new cars were then sent to a small factory in London, in chassis by road, driven by conveyors from the factory to be bodied overseas, the rest being reserved for the French market. The gamble paid off and within two years 139 cars were sold with a drivetrain designed entirely by Maurice Sizaire, a perfectly balanced 4070cc one-piece four-cylinder developing 60hp. Equally luxurious and statuesque, more economical, less expensive and equally powerful, the Sizaire-Berwick achieved all the objectives set for it... But at the outbreak of the Great War, all the finished chassis were transported to London, where most were bodied as armored cars for the Royal Naval Air Service, suffering the sad fate of requisitioned cars... The car we are presenting is therefore a real exception in every respect and owes its survival to one man, J. Lefranc, its first owner from 1913 to 1989...
As incredible as it may seem, this car is known as the oldest Sizaire-Berwik in the world. Built by Labourdette, it is a unique model and has only known two owners in its lifetime. Never restored, its history from its conception, its preservation and its arrival in 1990 at the Museum of Reims is exceptional. Hervé Charbonneaux came across it in 1968 in the garage of the castle of its first owner, an industrialist from Haute Marne. The bodywork had been left next to the chassis to avoid the car being requisitioned during the war. Numerous photos from this period are included in the file and show the condition of the chassis and bodywork. On Hervé's initiative, it will be presented at the 1971 edition of the Salon de l'Auto during an exhibition of 80 French cars. It was displayed as a complete chassis, its body ready to be reassembled. The latter had been specially made at the request of its owner as a travel sedan at Labourdette, which was very rare at the time and much more expensive to manufacture. One must imagine that cars at that time were not yet closed, but open and often without a top. This vehicle was very modern for its time with a starter and electric lighting, we are in 1913, in a period of transition in terms of construction which prefigures the great developments of the post-war period.
In 1989, after the death of Jean Lefranc, the car was transferred to the family museum, and the entire history of the car was discovered thanks to the accompanying file. An invoice dating from 1927, a certificate from Maurice Sizaire dated 16 January 1965 confirming the construction of chassis 105 E in Courbevoie in 1913. Even more exceptional, an original diagram from the coachbuilder Million Guiet confirms the wish in the 1920s to transform his SB 20 hp chassis into a cabriolet, an idea that had never really left him even shortly before his death, as can be read in various specialized magazines. Commercial brochures of the time, Sizaire-Berwick, Bleriot, Société Paris Rhône, R.A.F... Everything that equipped the car still go together with it today.
Even today, all the mechanical details are splendid, the perfectly complete dashboard is splendid, as is the original upholstery in a remarkable state of preservation. It is clear that the Sizaire-Berwick brand had succeeded in raising itself to the level of the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. In 2007, the car took part in the brand's rally at La Ferté Allais. Perfectly stored, it was given a new lease of life in 2014 by a pre-war specialist and will easily be back in service in the hands of its third owner.
Everything about this car is a fascinating discovery. Jean Lefranc's initials on the rear trunk, its richly documented history, the hectic life of its patron Alexander Keiller, Berwick's fierce desire to dethrone Rolls-Royce and the Sizaire brothers' desire to conquer the British market... A promise of talent that was kept by its designers and that will have its rightful place on the ground of the greatest international concours events.

This car will be sold by auction by AGUTTES Auction House, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, on June the 20th, 2021.
The digital catalog is available by the following link
https://www.aguttes.com/en/catalog/113642?

Please contact us for any further details.
[email protected]
+33 147 459 301
+ 33 668 362 622