The roaring twenties an era of economic prosperity the years when the sky was the limit. People started dancing on Jazz music, the fashion become more exciting and modern. People started enjoying life in a modern way, as we have today. The era that evolved motorsport to a new standard, professional and serious. Car manufacturers started in both the States, Australia and Europe investing serious money in motorsport. Via this platform, they were able to show the world what their cars could do. Grand Prix driving would never be the same again after World War I. The sport had more flair, more passion and became an elite sport. Time to see which unraced cars brought 1929 us.
As the 1929s happened 96 years ago, the information about this era is hard to get. Going through newspapers, magazines and books from that era is the only way to uncover the unraced of the roaring 1920s. Therefore, not all information is complete. Some years are lacking all the attempts made to appear on the grid. As well, the lack of proper covering bares the question sometimes if some is unraced or not.
Alphi CIME – T10 Grand Prix
There is not much information available about the Alphi CIME. Alphi was a French car manufacturer that only existed for two or three years. Sources state that they established in 1928, while other say they established in 1929. What is known, is that they disappeared at the end of 1931. Alphi made their debut in the motorsport in 1928 when they debuted in Le Mans they retired half way due to engine failures. It seems they scrapped the car right after Le Mans, as it was never seen again. After Le Mans, the idea was to build a Grand Prix car to race during the 1929 French Grand Prix.
The company started working on their Alphi T10 Grand Prix, which would be fitted with a 70HP CIME engine. As said, the plan was to debut the car for the French Grand Prix at Le Mans the 30th of June 1929. Edouard Brisson was to race with the car. The car appears on entry lists as the Alphi CIME. However, the full name of the car is the T10 Grand Prix. The design of the car was straight forward and ahead of it’s time. It was already experimenting with aerodynamics. Why the car did not race is not known. Could be that the financial crisis of 1929 is part of it. Only one car was build.
TAM
Nothing much is known about the TAM Grand Prix car. It is only known that it was on the entry list for IV Grand Prix des Frontières held the 19th of May 1929. The driver would have been De la Place according to books I own. They did not appear at the start.
Vernandi
While Vernandi sounds Italian, it was a French constructor established in 1928 and would disappear in 1929. The first time the Vernandi appeared in publish was during a Hill-climb in 1928 at Gaillon. The engineer Causan designed the car. It seems that Causan was one of the designers in France of the late 1920s. Especially mechanically, he had an advantage on other manufacturers. In 1929, the car was on the entry list for the French Grand Prix with Jules Nandillon as driver. They did not start the race. There is info of a second Vernandi with a V16 engine!
Soriano
This is one of the cars that seems to have an unknown history. What I could uncover is that Graf drove a couple of times a Soriano Pedroso in 1925. In 1929, there was a Soriano on the entry list for the Grand Prix at Bordeaux held the 23th of June. Which was a Cyclecars race. Grimaud was the driver. However, they did not start the race.
Aries
The correct spelling of the car is Ariès. A French car Manufacturer established in 1903 and disappeared in 1938. While there is plenty of info available about the company. There is little to none information available about the car. The well-known Robert Laly was to drive the car during the French Grand Prix.
FAR / Cozette Special
The FAR (F.A.R.) is an interesting and sad story. The car is in fact a Cozette Special designed and build by René Cozette on order of Ionel Ghika Cantacuzino. Ionel was born in 1904 in a noble family. Already on a young age, it seems he was addicted to speed. When he was only in his early 20s he had his first experience with motorsport but also air racing. In 1928, he had the intention to compete during the Indy 500 with the Cozette Special. The car never appeared in the states. Instead, he appeared at the sixth edition of Le Mans. While Ionel was to race in multiple Grand Prix’s in 1929, he would not. The car was destroyed after a crash at Montlhéry the 20th of August. Which costed René Cozette his life. Ionel passed in 1932 at the age of 28.
Caban
Nothing much is known about the Caban car. The car appeared on the entry list for I Prix de la Ville de Reims held the 7th of July. Barre was to race with the car but did not. This is all the information about the Caban.
