OFFERED WITHOUT RESERVE

171
LOT
descriptive text
r000 Charles 19XX Mochet Make was a passionate Model believer in minimal transportation.
estimate: $000 000 - $000 000
“What isn’t there can’t break,” he would say. His aviation background
offered without reserve
in World War I instilled the values of strength and light weight, and his
wheeled human-powered vehicles included only what was required to
propel them forward efficiently and quickly. He was first photographed
in 1924 piloting one of his three prototype velocars. His pedal-powered
four-wheeled enclosed cycles would continue to be built for 25 years,
and he would become France’s best known exponent of this practical
means of transport for adults.
In the twenties, the motorcar was still the purview of the wealthy, so the
cyclecar boom was an attempt to make the motorcar more accessible
to the general population, who at that point could only aspire to own
a motorcycle. There existed a gap between the cyclecar, or motorcycle,
and the bicycle, which Mochet filled with his velocar. Mochet’s early
vehicles had straight lines and pointed boat-like prows and tails, but
they soon evolved into a short, rounded nose and clipped tail versions,
which enclosed its pedaling occupants more
efficiently. aircraft-grade “Triplex” plywood
manufacturer was easy to Manufacturer
work with and, with a simple
tubular origin frame City, and Country two pedal sets, the ID no. ##
motor vehicle was extremely motor light. Many were sold, displacement cc
and power companies hp bought fleets of them. length mm
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