Hispano-Suiza H6
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The Hispano-Suiza H6 was an ultra-luxurious automobile from the 1920s. Introduced at the 1919 Paris Motor Show, the H6 was produced through 1933. Roughly 2,350 H6, H6B, and H6C cars were produced in total.
The H6 engine featured a straight-6 inspired by designer Marc Birkigt's work on aircraft engines. It was an all-aluminium engine displacing 6.5 L. Apart from the new overhead camshaft, it was essentially half of Birkigt's aviation V12 design. The billet crankshaft was milled from a 700 lb (317 kg) block of steel to become a sturdy 35 lb (16 kg) unit.
One of the most notable features of the H6 was its brakes. They were power-assisted, the first in the industry, and were driven with a special shaft from the transmission. When the car was decelerating, its own momentum drove the brake servo to provide additional power. This technology was later licensed to other manufacturers, including archrival Rolls-Royce.
The 1922 H6B was slightly more powerful, and an 8.0 L engine appeared in 1924's H6C. The similar 9.5 L V12 took over after 1933, though this car used a more-conventional pushrod engines.
