Cars from 1920 to 1950 - The golden age of the car

1935
Code 1704
Body style: limousine

The Hispano Suiza range was updated in the early 1930s, under pressure from its American competitors. The firm started with a model powered with its prestigious V-12 engine (two examples are on display in the ‘Motorcar Masterpieces’ area). By 1934, the Great Depression was having an effect on the market and large-engine vehicles were no longer in demand. Hispano therefore added the K6 to the range. This K6 was presented at the 1934 Paris Motor Show, with the same chassis as the famed J12, but a six-cylinder rather than V-12 engine. The K6 was not perhaps the greatest success for Hispano, but the make’s manufacturing quality was still to the fore.

With the broad-based, low-riding chassis, there was plenty of scope for attractive bodywork. This limousine version was built by Kellner and is one of the first units to have been produced. The model sold fairly well, but its promising career was cut short by the nationalisation of the munitions industries by the Front Populaire Government in France. Hispano, which had a major activity manufacturing aircraft engines, put an end to its automobile business. K6 production was therefore terminated in 1937, after 206 units had been produced, the end of the manufacture of Hispano Suiza cars in France.