Monopole (company)

History

Établissements SIM SA, a Swiss company based in Morges that operated a foundry and machine shops, used American investment capital in 1920 to create Établissements Monopole in Poissy, France. The new firm specialised in pistons, piston-rings, valves, and other engine parts, and was managed by a Mr. Guerne. Its literature used the name Monopole-Poissy.

Majority ownership passed to André Hémard in 1937–38; Hémard was the son of Guy-Aristide Hémard of the Pernod distilling concern. In 1944 Hémard installed his son-in-law Jean de Montrémy as CEO. Monopole’s clients by then included Peugeot and Citroën. A merger with Floquet sparkplug produced the name Floquet Monopole, and later acquisitions included valve maker Jeudy, gudgeon pin maker Marty, and piston maker Nova.

In 1978 Dana Incorporated completed its acquisition of Floquet Monopole. The Floquet Monopole name was phased out in Europe by early 1998, and the division became known as Perfect Circle. A former licensee purchased the name rights and incorporated as Floquet Monopole Industrie de Précision in Fes, Morocco.

Monopole in racing

Jean de Montrémy developed a taste for racing while a student at Reims. As CEO of Monopole, he saw competition as a way to test the company’s products and promote the firm, focusing on small-displacement endurance racing. Écurie Monopole was established to take the company racing. De Montrémy designed the first racing Monopole himself, using the chassis and engine of a Simca 8 with lightweight aluminium bodywork.

It debuted at Reims on 6 July 1947, finishing seventh. In 1948 two more Simca-Monopoles were built with custom lightweight chassis. These cars raced through 1948 and 1949, including Monopole’s first Le Mans appearance, where de Montrémy and Eugène Dussous finished twelfth overall and first in the S 1.1 class.

Racing was a family affair, with de Montrémy and his brothers-in-law Jean and Pierre Hémard making many appearances. In 1950 Panhard offered parts and technical support to racing teams; Monopole used this to design a new car with Panhard’s air-cooled flat twin engine and front-wheel drive chassis from the Panhard Dyna X. The car was designed by Pierre Bourdereau as a compact barquette, often called a tank due to its full-width ponton-style bodywork. In 1952 Monopole won both the Index of Performance and the eighteenth Biennial Cup for the third consecutive year, making them the only manufacturer to achieve three such victories.

Racing cars

The Monopole Sport was the first racer, using the 1090 cc inline four-cylinder engine and chassis of a Simca 8 with lightweight aluminium bodywork. Two additional copies built in 1948 kept the Simca engine but used a custom Monopole chassis. The Duval Monopole, chassis DS 002, appeared around 1951 and was likely an earlier Simca Monopole modified by owner/driver Pierre Duval to accept a 2.0 L V8 from a Ford Vedette.

Beginning with the Monopole X84, cars were based on the Panhard Dyna X series, using the donor’s engine, chassis, and running gear with streamlined custom barquette bodywork referred to as a tank. The X84 used the Dyna 100’s GM600 S engine of 610 cc. The X85, from the Dyna 110, had the same displacement but a GM600 SS2 engine.

The X86, from the Dyna 120, increased displacement to 745 cc and was available in two tunes; both barquette and berlinette versions were built. The X87, from the Dyna 130, used an 848 cc engine. The Panhard-Monopole X88 also appeared.

Racing record

At the 1947 Reims Formula Libre, a Simca Monopole Sport driven by de Montrémy finished seventh. In the 1948 12 Hours of Paris, de Montrémy and Dussous finished ninth and won the S 1.1 class. At the 1949 24 Hours of Le Mans, de Montrémy and Dussous finished twelfth and first in S 1.1. In 1950 a Simca Monopole with de Montrémy and Hémard finished twenty-second.

The 1951 Le Mans saw a Monopole Sport X84 finish twenty-fourth. In 1952 a Monopole Sport X84 finished fourteenth and first in S750. In 1954 a Monopole Sport X84 finished thirteenth.

At the 1957 Le Mans, Pierre Hémard and Pierre Chancel finished eighteenth in a Panhard Monopole X89, while Robert Chancel and Pierre Flahault finished twentieth in a Panhard Monopole X88. In 1958 the only finishing Monopole, driven by Jacques Poch and Guy Dunand, came seventeenth. Pierre Duval finished tenth in the Portugal Grand Prix.

At the 1952 GP de Reims, Pierre Chancel finished thirteenth. In the 1955 GP des Frontieres, Duval finished seventh. At the 1956 GP de Rouen, Pierre Hémard finished eighth and first in S750. In the 12 Hours of Reims, Yvonne Simon and Hémard finished fourteenth in 1953; the Chancel brothers finished seventh in 1956; in 1957 Pierre Chancel and Hémard finished twenty-fourth and first in GT1.0; in 1958 three Monopoles finished first, second, and third in GT750.