1914 F.N. 2700 RA II (Fabrique Nationale d’Armes de Guerre)

General information:

In the early days of motoring, Belgium boasted several respected manufacturers like Minerva, Imperia, Excelsior, Metallurgique and FN, but one by one they fell by the wayside, leaving the market wide open or foreign firms. The small home market and appalling pave roads were great deterrents for Belgian manufacturers, as they were obliged to build very dull, strong cars which could also be exported to countries already used to sophisticated cars. They invariably proved to be failures.

FN was one of the country's longest-lived car makers, as it built cars between 1899 and 1939, albeit in rather small quantities. FN stands for Fabrique National d'Armes de Guerre and, as the name suggests, it was mainly engaged in building armaments. The first FN car was a twin-cylinder, chain-driven dog cart, with a two-speed gearbox. This sold remarkably well for the period, and no fewer than 100 appeared in the first year of manufacture, and the company persevered with dog carts until 1906, when it began construction of a much bigger car under licence from Rochet-Schneider.

History and data of our car:

Year of construction:

1914 chassis, 1921 bodywork

Factory:

Chassis Liège, Belgium
Bodywork Buenos Aires, Argentina

Type: 7 passenger double phaeton

Cylinder: 4 in line, water cooled

Power: 32 PS, 70 km/h

Capacity: 2700 cm

Gearbox: Manual, 4V + 1R

The chassis was built at the end of 1921 by F.N. in Liège. It was probably ordered by the Argentiniana army. The car was imported to Buenos Aires in 1922 by the Argentiniana F.N. dealer von der Gote.

In Buenos Aires/Tucaman the car was equipped with a 7 passenger double phaeton body by Roesler & CIE. After World War II, the car was owned by Atillo Santiago Porretti. He was a famous submarine captain and the founder of the Automobile Club of Mar del Plata.

In the eighties the car was bought by a Dutch businessman. We were able to buy the car in summer 2013. At this time it was owned by the president of the F.N. club of Germany. F.N. built 197 F.N. 2700 RA II cars. Only 3 have survived. Our car is in good condition and could be daily used.