- Founded
- 1905 – 1932
- Founder
- Q139083518
- Headquarters
- Paris, France
Brothers Édouard and Ernest-Maurice Ballot established their Paris engineering concern in 1905, first earning recognition for proprietary marine, industrial and automobile engines—the marine trade explaining the anchor emblem. After wartime aero-engine work, Ernest-Maurice hired former Peugeot engineer Ernest Henry to create four 4.8-litre straight-eight cars for the 1919 Indianapolis race. Three-litre successors brought major competition results, including Jules Goux's victory in the 1921 Italian Grand Prix. Ballot then transferred its twin-cam technology to the costly 2LS road car and broadened production with the simpler 2LT and sporting 2LTS. A brief six-cylinder transition led to the RH luxury straight-eight family. Approximately 2,522 Ballot automobiles were built in all. Hispano-Suiza absorbed the financially weakened company in 1931 and Ballot-badged production ended in 1932; Hispano-Suiza HS26 chassis subsequently assembled in the plant are not Ballot models.
Text adapted from “Ballot” on Wikipedia ↗ · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗