In 1883, a young Dutchman, Sylvain de Jong (1868–1928) settled in
Antwerp,
Belgium.
Bicycles and motorcycles in Australia near the turn of the 20th century, by
Alice Manfield Minerva started out manufacturing standard safety
bicycles in 1897, before in 1900 expanding into light cars and "motocyclettes", particularly
motorized bicycles which were a forerunner of
motorcycles. As engine power increased, frame ruptures became increasingly common, and by 1903 Minerva had developed an in-frame design for their bicycles, with the engine mounted above the
bottom bracket, while still also offering the clip-on kit. From 1904 Minerva began focusing more on car production, and while development and production of the Minerva motorized bicycles and motorcycles continued through to about 1909, they increasingly became a less significant part of the company. Motorcycle production would continue until 1909 or 1914, and during this period Minerva became one of the world's premier names in motorcycles and motorcycle engines. (For instance
Chater-Lea produced Minerva-engines in the UK.)
Automobiles In 1902 De Jong added cars to his production as well with a 6 hp four-cylinder model. In 1903 he founded
Société Anonyme Minerva Motors in Berchem (Antwerp). Volume car production began in 1904 with a range of two-, three- and four-cylinder models with chain drive and metal clad wooden chassis and the
Minervette cyclecar. The 8-litre
Kaiserpreis won the Belgian Circuit des Ardennes race in 1907.
Charles S Rolls (of future
Rolls-Royce fame) was a Minerva dealer in England selling the 2.9-litre . The most important market for the manufacturer remained England, where at £105 the small 636 cc single-cylinder
Minervette was the cheapest car on the market, followed by the Netherlands and France. In 1908, Minerva obtained a worldwide
Knight Engine license. The Knight motor, developed by
Charles Yale Knight in the United States, used double
sleeve valves and ran almost silently. All future Minervas would use these engines. Sporting successes continued with the new engines including the Austrian Alpine Trials and Swedish Winter Trials. Customers for the Minerva would include kings of Belgium, Sweden and Norway,
Henry Ford and the Impressionist Artist
Anna Boch. During
World War I Sylvain de Jong and his engineers were based in Amsterdam where they maintained development of their automobiles. Minerva cars were used for hit and run attacks against the Germans initially with rifle fire and light machine guns from simply protected open topped vehicles. These vehicles became increasingly sophisticated until
trench warfare robbed them of the mobility needed for their hit and run tactics. In 1920, they returned to Belgium to restart the production of luxury cars with the
20CV 3.6-litre four-cylinder and
30CV 5.3-litre six-cylinder models. The manufacturer's star rose not only in Europe, but in the United States as well where American film stars, politicians and industrialists appreciated the cars. The Minerva had the same quality as the
Rolls-Royce, but was slightly less expensive. Due to the success, in 1922 a second factory apart from the primary one in Berchem was built in Mortsel for coachbuilding. In 1923, smaller models were introduced; the 2-litre four-cylinder
15CV and 3.4-litre six-cylinder
20CV with standard four-wheel brakes. In 1927, the
30CV was replaced with the 6-litre
AK and also a new 2-litre six, the
12-14, was introduced. Large cars continued to be a specialty of Minerva's, and in 1930 the then almost-compulsory-for-the-time straight eight was introduced in two sizes; the 6.6-litre
AL and the 4-litre
AP. ==References==