“One of the last models produced by the great Belgian brand…”
Minerva initially manufactured bicycles and motorbike engines before turning its attention to cars in 1902. It was a success, given that a certain Charles Rolls was, in fact, the brand’s initial importer for England, and that Minerva – which also exported to the United States – was Belgium’s largest car manufacturer before the First World War…
In the early 1920s, still firmly established across the Atlantic, the brand was competing with none other than Rolls-Royce. Hit hard by the 1929 crash, it eventually disappeared in 1939, when it was sold and renamed Société Nouvelle Minerva, and was finally laid to rest in 1958, following the period of Land Rover production under licence.
The car on offer here therefore represents the very end of pre-war Minerva production, at a time when the merger with Imperia had already taken effect and the cars were merely a shadow of their former selves. Based on the AL model, the F/M8 nevertheless features an inline-eight engine whose displacement had been reduced to 4 litres.
Chassis #87192 may be one of the two exhibited at the 1938 London Motor Show. It was registered in the London area on 20 June 1938. Its history is then traced and documented, right up to its purchase by Mr Vander Stappen, who sold it to the current owner at an auction in 2018.
The car, which had been partially restored, underwent extensive work, mainly mechanical, and has since covered nearly 3,000 km without any issues. With its American styling, its distinctive Art Deco details, its straight-eight engine, its history and its rare authenticity, this Minerva will delight even the most discerning collectors – Belgian ones, perhaps?…