1957 Inter 175A Berline

Specifications

Engine: Ydral rear-mounted 2-stroke

Displacement: 175cc

Horsepower: 8 hp

Transmission: 3-speed manual

In the early 1950’s, the French aircraft builders S.N.C.A.N. (Societe Nationale de Construction AeroNautique), began work on an unorthodox “auto-scooter” using aeronautical design principles. Introduced as the Inter at the 1953 Paris Show by the distributors A. E. M. W. (Ateliers Electro-Mechaniques de la Seine of Saint-Ouen), it was a kindred spirit to the Messerschmitt KR-175. Both shared a tilting canopy as means of ingress and egress. And, while they both shared styling resembling an aircraft fuselage, the Inter was decidedly French. 

The prototypes shown at the 1953 Paris Show were far different than the completed production car. Three styles were displayed, including a convertible, though it was the Berline model with its unique domed roof and skylight that ultimately reached production. A total of 300 are estimated to have been produced from 1953-1956, with less than 10 percent believed to exist today. Two passengers sit in tandem, and a single central headlamp provides nighttime illumination. Although the design remained similar during production, it is said that no two Inters are identical.

Among its aircraft elements is a helicopter-type starter – the Westinghouse Gyrostarter – which engages the engine with a characteristic electrical whine by pressing a lever. The Gyrostarter is an electric motor that has a flywheel and clutch mechanism and will spin the flywheel until it has gained sufficient speed, with momentum then transferred to the crankshaft via its built in clutch. A steering handlebar mimics the Inter’s aircraft origins, with the steering operated by a bicycle chain. The chain and its adjusting rods cross over to form a figure eight that in turn links to a rack and pinion underneath the car, which was very common of aviation controls of the period.