Pettit's Little Gem

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Attracted to its quaint simplicity and somewhat abstract, the present owner of this 1921 Salmson AL2 faux cabriolet was quick to make enquiries when he spotted a classified advertisement tucked away in the VSCC Bulletin.

Not only was it an extremely original, Oily Rag example of an unusual light car, the years of patina revealed so much history and raise questions about even more. For one thing, it was probably the only Salmson AL coupé ever built and, for another, it is believed to be the oldest example of a Salmson constructed to the firm's own designs (as opposed to a licence-built GN). You’d think the car was interesting enough without its peculiar construction.

What of the construction? For a start, it’s flimsy on account of there being no supporting A-post where the door meets the scuttle, and hence quite unsuitable for production. Then there’s the boot, which is reached internally rather than externally and has resulted in the passenger seat sacrificing most of its backrest for the sake of access, so the passenger is uncomfortable and luggage storage is impractical.

Matthew Bell met the owner to theorise about how this curious car came to be, and their discussions are detailed in the November issue of The Automobile, which is on sale now.

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