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Mondays by appointment.
Open door weekend 27-28/04/2024, are you coming too?✨
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Minerva is a Belgian bicycle, motorcycle, and automobile brand named after the Greek goddess of wisdom, inventiveness and art. These are all aspects that the Dutchman Sylvain de Jong incorporated the bicycles he started making after immigrating to Antwerp, Belgium. When Minerva was founded in 1897, the intention was to exclusively build bicycles. The first motorized motorcycle was sold in 1900, the rest is history: Belgian automotive history.
Sales quickly skyrocketed, ‘forcing’ Minerva to start producing automobiles as well. By this time, they had already gained expertise in motors through motorcycle production. In 1904, Minerva produced its first automobile and soon became revered among the rich European families. Minerva was just as luxurious and prestigious as Rolls-Royce is today. It is no coincidence that Rolls-Royce is mentioned here, as the founder of Rolls-Royce was the man who brought Minerva across the Channel. He was the one who helped Minerva gain fame in the United Kingdom.
Those who could afford a car in the early 1900s were very wealthy. There is not much comparison, but it can be said that these cars were exceedingly luxurious. The interior was finished with beautiful fabric upholstery for the passengers and leather for the front. The cockpit was separated from the passenger compartment, and the spacious cars could accommodate at least five people. The engine was always of considerable size, and there were no valves. Sleeve engines - a type of four-stroke engine primarily used in airplanes - were used instead.
The Minerva factory was the largest in Belgium and was occupied by the Germans during World War I. Nevertheless, the ambitious Minerva employees persevered, in the roaring twenties, with a reviving economy, Minerva sold many cars all over the world. At the end of that golden decade, Sylvain de Jong died, and financial crisis began. The demand for Minerva cars decreased, and in 1934, Minerva merged with another Belgian car brand. After World War II, it tried to stay afloat by producing Land Rover’s predecessor to the Defender. Unfortunately, in the 1950s, they closed their doors.
Today, Minerva cars are still highly sought after by collectors, and Minervas can be seen in many war museums or classic car museums.
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