Minerva Model History

Belgium · founded 1902

Belgium's most prestigious pre-war marque — Antwerp-built luxury cars powered by whisper-quiet Knight sleeve-valve engines, favoured by royalty and rivalling Rolls-Royce (1902–1938).

Models

Early Models (1902–1907)

Minerva's founding-era automobiles — multi-cylinder chain-drive cars that won the 1907 Belgian Circuit des Ardennes with the 8-litre Kaiserpreis.

Touring car · 1902–1907
30CV

Post-WWI flagship six-cylinder — a 5.3-litre Knight sleeve-valve grand tourer that placed Minerva among Europe's top luxury marques.

Luxury car · 1920–1927
Type AK

Minerva's definitive interwar grand tourer — a 6.0-litre sleeve-valve six capable of 90 mph, bodied by the finest coachbuilders in Europe and America.

Luxury car · 1927–1937
Type AL

Minerva's ultra-rare 6.6-litre straight-eight — fewer than fifty built, launched at the worst possible moment as the Depression killed demand for opulent cars.

Luxury car · 1930–1934
Type AP

The more attainable of Minerva's 1930 straight-eights — a 4.0-litre, 22CV model that outlasted the marque itself, still sold under the Minerva name by Impéria until 1938.

Luxury car · 1930–1938
M4

Minerva's last-gasp attempt at a smaller, Depression-era car — a 2-litre four-cylinder saloon that retained the sleeve-valve engine but could not save the company.

Saloon · 1934–1935

Other makes