Bij ’t Vuur

The Bij ’t Vuur brothers were prominent Arnhem carriage builders with independent businesses, but only C. Bij ’t Vuur manufactured complete automobiles. In 1901 he built a Darracq-like car around a 6 hp Aster single-cylinder with electric ignition and entered it in the Toer door Nederland, an early national motoring promotion. Arnhem resident P. W. Riemer bought the successful demonstrator afterward. A second, slightly stronger break-tonneau car followed, and the 1902 RAI exhibition established a regular range: a 6½ HP early model plus 9 and 12 HP twin-cylinder cars. The latter cost 2,800 and 3,600 guilders respectively. All used shaft drive, three forward speeds and reverse, wooden wheels and patent axles; advertisements stressed the absence of belts and chains. Aster engines were standard, with De Dion-Bouton or Panhard power available to order. The 1903 RAI catalogue listed only one unspecified automobile. At the 1905 show Bij ’t Vuur displayed a supposed proprietary-engine car, but the engine reportedly was unfinished and lacked internal parts. Three buses were constructed later that year, yet bankruptcy prevented delivery and ended vehicle production. Approximately twenty-five cars were built in total. Some secondary sources extend the endpoint to 1906, but the detailed Dutch record and bankruptcy chronology support 1905. The catalog separates six evidenced identities while recording contradictory engine details on the 6½ HP rather than forcing false precision.

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