Laurin & Klement FC from 1908: The first major motor racing successes of automobiles from Mladá Boleslav

› The success of Laurin & Klement’s motorbikes on the racetrack was confirmed shortly afterwards by the first automobiles from the Mladá Boleslav manufacturer
› From 1908 to 1911, the FCS and FCR left the competition behind in the toughest races of the time
› Laurin & Klement chief engineer #ottohieronimus set a world speed #record on the Brooklands circuit in 1908

Mladá Boleslav, 31 March 2021 – Laurin & Klement’s automobiles were victorious on racetracks and in reliability races even in the early days of the company. These #racing successes helped raise the profile of the young brand from Mladá Boleslav. Wherever Laurin & Klement entered its #racing cars, they were often the first to cross the finish line. The Laurin & Klement FC made a significant contribution to this success at the beginning of the 20th century.

Laurin & Klement achieved its first motorsport triumphs on motorbikes at the beginning of the 20th century. It quickly became clear from these successes that victories in motorsport boosted business and thus also the development of the up-and-coming company from Mladá Boleslav. For this reason, Václav Laurin and Václav Klement began building a #racing car immediately after the premiere of the company’s first automobile, the Voiturette A. This strategy proved successful; with an output of 9 hp and a top speed of 45 km/h, L&K’s Voiturette B took first, second and fourth place in the famous Semmering race in Austria in 1906.

Laurin & Klement’s vehicles held their own against the competition in subsequent races at home and abroad, attracting even more attention to the car manufacturer. The FC model, which was based on the F series of passenger cars, guaranteed success during this period.

Between 1907 and 1909, the designer, #racing driver and chief engineer #ottohieronimus developed 19 vehicles of this type, which differed both in terms of appearance and technology. Depending on the classification, the in-line four-cylinder engines of the L&K FC had displacements between 2.0 and 2.5 litres with varying dimensions for bore and stroke. In all cases, the rear wheels were driven via a three-speed gearbox.

1908 was a particularly successful year for the ambitious automobile manufacturer. In March, it entered several vehicles in different classes in the Zbraslav-Jíloviště hill climb race and secured six first places, five second places and one third place. In Ries near Graz, Laurin & Klement celebrated a double victory in the two-litre class. #ottohieronimus himself took first place in his class on the 686-kilometre long-distance drive from St. Petersburg to Moscow, thus proving the outstanding reliability of the vehicles he had designed. The L&K FC also left the competition behind at the demanding Prinz-Heinrich-Fahrt in Germany. Over nine days, the route covered 2,200 kilometres from Berlin via Kiel and Hamburg to Hanover, Cologne and Trier before the participants reached the finish in Frankfurt am Main

Further information in the press release to download