Cime

Cime, formally known as C.I.M.E. or La Compagnie Industrielle des Moteurs à Explosion, was a French engineering and automotive manufacturer based in Fraisses in the Loire department. The company is chiefly associated with compact proprietary internal-combustion engines supplied to other vehicle makers during the 1920s and the inter-war period. Its products were used in light cars, cyclecars and voiturettes rather than in large-scale mass-market automobiles. Cime’s engine business appears to have begun in the 1920s. One of its documented early applications was an 1,100 cc four-cylinder engine installed in the Anglo-French Marlborough in 1922. The Marlborough was largely manufactured by Malicet et Blin in Aubervilliers, Paris. By 1924, the Cime-powered Marlborough was listed at £175, illustrating the company’s participation in the relatively international market for inexpensive light vehicles and proprietary engines. The 1,100 cc unit remained in production until 1926, when the available reference material indicates that this particular engine program ended. Cime engines were adopted by several small vehicle manufacturers during the inter-war era. The company’s most notable sporting association was with E.H.P. cars, including an E.H.P. entry that finished fifth in the 1927 24 Hours of Le Mans with a 1,094 cc Cime four-cylinder engine. Cime also produced straight-six engines. Examples were used in the 1926 Amilcar CIME 6 cylinder Special and in the French-built Derby voiturette, demonstrating that the company’s work extended beyond a single four-cylinder design and found applications in both experimental and production-oriented light vehicles. In 1929, Cime expanded from supplying engines to manufacturing complete automobiles under its own name. The company produced the A2, a small sports car equipped with a 1,203 cc four-cylinder engine. Production was extremely limited: approximately 20 vehicles are reported to have been built. This short-lived automobile program did not establish Cime as a volume car manufacturer, but it marks the company’s transition from specialist component supplier to vehicle producer. Cime’s later corporate history is poorly documented. The date on which the company was dissolved is not known in the available reference material, and no reliable information identifies its final owners, executives or successor organization. Cime is therefore best understood as a defunct French inter-war engine and light-car marque whose historical importance lies in supplying engines to niche manufacturers and in its brief, low-volume attempt to build complete sports cars. A surviving Cime A2 is displayed at the Musée Automobile Reims Champagne, preserving a tangible example of the marque’s automobile production.

Cime was established in Fraisses, in France’s Loire department, as an engineering company focused on light internal-combustion engines. Its formal name, La Compagnie Industrielle des Moteurs à Explosion, is reflected in the initials C.I.M.E. The company operated in a period when numerous small European vehicle manufacturers relied on outside suppliers for engines, allowing specialist firms to sell standardized or semi-proprietary power units to several marques at once. During the 1920s, Cime developed and supplied compact engines, especially four-cylinder units. A documented application appeared in 1922, when an 1,100 cc Cime engine was fitted to the Anglo-French Marlborough. That car was mainly manufactured by Malicet et Blin in Aubervilliers, Paris. By 1924, the Marlborough was priced at £175, and the Cime engine continued to be associated with the model until 1926. This application placed Cime within the cross-border light-car market, where engine suppliers and assembling manufacturers could operate across national boundaries. Cime power units were subsequently used by several cyclecar and voiturette makers. The company’s strongest competition record came through E.H.P. cars. An E.H.P. equipped with a 1,094 cc Cime four-cylinder engine achieved fifth place in the 1927 24 Hours of Le Mans. The result was significant for a small engine manufacturer because it gave the brand visibility in endurance racing while demonstrating the suitability of its compact powerplant for demanding competition use. The company’s engine range was not restricted to four-cylinder designs. Cime also built straight-six engines. These included units associated with the 1926 Amilcar CIME 6 cylinder Special and with the French Derby voiturette. The available historical record does not provide a complete catalogue, production totals or technical specifications for the full engine range, so the extent of Cime’s manufacturing capacity remains uncertain. In 1929, Cime entered complete automobile production. Its only identified model was the A2, a small sports car powered by a 1,203 cc four-cylinder engine. Output was very limited, at approximately 20 vehicles. The A2 therefore represented a boutique and experimental extension of Cime’s engineering business rather than a sustainable high-volume passenger-car operation. A surviving example is held at the Musée Automobile Reims Champagne. After the A2 program, the historical record becomes incomplete. The date of dissolution is not known, and available sources do not establish whether the company was acquired, reorganized or simply ceased operations. No dependable list of directors, founders or later corporate owners has been identified. Cime’s documented legacy consequently rests on its 1920s proprietary engines, its use by several small French and Anglo-French vehicle manufacturers, its 1927 Le Mans result through E.H.P., and its brief 1929 venture into automobile production.

• 1929

  Launch of the Cime A2

  [1]CIMEen.wikipedia.org

  Cime began producing complete automobiles, introducing the A2 small sports car with a 1,203 cc four-cylinder engine. Approximately 20 examples were built.

• 1927

  Fifth place at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

  [1]CIMEen.wikipedia.org

  An E.H.P. car using a 1,094 cc Cime four-cylinder engine finished fifth in the 24-hour endurance race.

• 1926

  Cime straight-six applications

  [1]CIMEen.wikipedia.org

  Cime straight-six engines were used in the Amilcar CIME 6 cylinder Special and in the French-built Derby voiturette.

• 1924

  Marlborough application documented at a £175 price

  [1]CIMEen.wikipedia.org

  The Cime-powered Marlborough was listed at £175, and the 1,100 cc engine remained associated with the model until 1926.

• 1922

  Cime engine used in the Anglo-French Marlborough

  [1]CIMEen.wikipedia.org

  An 1,100 cc Cime four-cylinder engine was fitted to the Anglo-French Marlborough, a light car largely manufactured by Malicet et Blin in Aubervilliers.

A specialist French supplier of compact proprietary engines for light vehicles, later extending its activities into very limited production of small sports cars.

• Proprietary light-vehicle engine · 1922

  1,100 cc four-cylinder engine

  Cime’s documented 1,100 cc four-cylinder unit was used in the Anglo-French Marlborough from 1922 and remained in production for that application until 1926. It exemplified the company’s role as an outside engine supplier to small vehicle manufacturers.

• Proprietary light-vehicle engine · 1926

  Cime straight-six engines

  Cime also manufactured straight-six engines for specialized inter-war applications. Documented installations include the 1926 Amilcar CIME 6 cylinder Special and a French-built Derby voiturette. Comprehensive specifications and production volumes are not available in the cited reference.

• Small sports car · 1929

  Cime A2

  The A2 was Cime’s only identified complete automobile. Introduced in 1929, it was a small sports car powered by a 1,203 cc four-cylinder engine. Production was highly limited, with approximately 20 vehicles built. At least one surviving example is displayed at the Musée Automobile Reims Champagne.

• 1929

  Move from engine supply into complete-car productionStrategy

  Background

  After supplying engines to other light-vehicle manufacturers during the 1920s, Cime expanded into automobile manufacturing.

  Action taken

  The company introduced the A2, a small sports car using a 1,203 cc four-cylinder engine.

  Aftermath

  Only about 20 cars were produced, and the available sources do not document a subsequent model range or the date of the company’s dissolution.

  Source

1. 1CIMEen.wikipedia.org