Like many early automakers, Adolphe Clément had his start in bicycles and pneumatic tyres as the Dunlop licensee for France. He became a shareholder in the early Gladiator firm in 1899, building petrol-powered tricycles and quadricycles before expanding to conventional and very modern front-engined models around 1901, while utilising engines built by some of Europe’s most pioneering firms.

In early 1903, Clément established his own independent concern in Levallois-Perret, creating the Clément-Bayard—named for the medieval French hero whose statue stood in front of one of the factories. This would also become one of the foundational marques of motoring in the United Kingdom, as it was also produced in London under the name Clément-Talbot, which eventually became Talbot. Its solidly engineered and well-constructed automobiles, produced almost entirely in-house, became one of the most revered of their era.

The twin-cylinder, 9/11 HP rear-entrance tonneau offered here is said to have remained in single-family ownership from the 1930s until 2009. For the last 50 of those years, it was exhibited on display in the Swiss National Transport Museum in Lucerne. It was refinished many years ago and believed to have been fitted in the mid-2010s with the present high-ignition magneto ignition system. Chassis number 6022 was more recently outfitted with an electric starter and a new friction clutch, during the course of an engine and gearbox rebuild. Otherwise, it remains in good and intact original condition. The Clément-Bayard has been subject to some £30,000-worth of expenditure for maintenance and upkeep with its consigning owner. Following much extensive research by a prior caretaker, it was successfully awarded Veteran Car Club dating as a 1904 model (completed in the spring of that year) since which it has successfully completed five editions of the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.

One of fewer than 10 surviving veteran era Clément-Bayard motorcars, this is a splendid piece. It boasts marvellous originality and abundant character, as well as proper potential to continue its career of prompt arrival in Brighton.