Amilcar CGS / CGSS Grand Sport History

The CGS 'Grand Sport', introduced in 1924, was the car that defined Amilcar's golden decade. It used a 1,074 cc four-cylinder side-valve engine — enlarged from the earlier CS — fitted with an aluminium cylinder head that helped it produce around 30 bhp. Combined with a longer, stiffer chassis, four-wheel brakes (then still a relative novelty on small cars), and a total weight of roughly 570 kg (1,250 lb), the CGS was good for at least 120 km/h (75 mph) — exceptional for a light car of its era.

In 1926 the CGSS — 'Grand Sport Surbaissé' (lowered Grand Sport) — arrived as a further refined, lower, sportier version of the formula, using the same 1,074 cc engine in higher tune. Together the CGS and CGSS were raced extensively in the 1,100 cc class across Europe, appearing at events including the Targa Florio, and gave Amilcar the racing credibility that made the marque a byword for spirited, affordable French motoring.

Alongside the production CGS/CGSS, Amilcar developed a batch of pure racing cars in the mid-1920s: supercharged, double-overhead-camshaft 1,100 cc six-cylinder machines with roller-bearing crankshafts in their full-race trim. These shared no engine with the road cars but carried the marque's name into the highest levels of voiturette racing, driven by the likes of André Morel.