1910s
Returning to an 1898 idea by Alexandre Darracq to build low-cost, high-quality cars, much as Henry Ford was doing with the Model T, Darracq introduced a £260 14–16 hp (10–12 kW; 14–16 PS) model in 1911. These, at the founder's insistence, would all be cursed with the Henriod rotary valve engine, which was underpowered and prone to seizing. It proved disastrous to the marque, and Alexadre Darracq resigned.
In 1913, Alexandre Darracq sold out to British financial interests led by Owen Clegg, who relocated to the Paris headquarters to take over as the Managing Director of the company. Clegg, designer of the proven Rover Twelve, sensibly copied the Twelve for Darracq's new model. The factory at Suresnes was retooled for mass production, making it one of the first in the industry to do so. The 16 hp (12 kW; 16 PS) Clegg-Darracq was joined by an equally reliable 2.1 l 12 hp (8.9 kW; 12 PS), and soon the factory was turning out sixty cars a week; by 1914, 12,000 men rolled out fourteen cars a day.
Read more about this topic: Darracq