Texier de la Caillerie amphibious car

The Texier de la Caillerie amphibious car was the work of Ulysse Texier de la Caillerie, a mechanic from Poitiers born in 1886 and a colourful local figure in the Gâtine region of western France. Living at Secondigny (Deux-Sèvres), he developed an amphibious machine intended for the French Army. His first car was presented publicly on 3 March 1932 on the fairground at Secondigny, before its first trial on a nearby pond.

Design

Unusually, the car ran on only two wheels on land, kept upright by an automatic stabilising system. It was promoted not only as a car but as a cross-country tractor for marshes and ploughing. The second model is credited with six horsepower and two seats, with a quoted speed of 60 km/h on land and 20 to 30 km/h on water.

History

Unhappy with his first model, which he had hoped to sell to the army, Texier built a slightly larger second car, probably reusing parts of the first; the stripped-down first car then served as a trailer for it. He sold his patents to the La Licorne company, which built several examples of the second model and presented them to the army.

In later life Texier was known for unsuccessful attempts at elected office, including a campaign for the presidency of the Fourth Republic. His story was told in the 1998 film about him by P. Ran and B. Pipet. During screenings in the area, mechanic Robert Morin of Clessé offered to rebuild the long-vanished car. Working from Texier's patents and period photographs, a group calling itself the Friends of Ulysses completed a replica in 2000 and presented it at Secondigny on 14 July 2000, on the same fairground as in 1932. It was later shown at Rétromobile in 2002, at the Concours Lépine and at Lohéac, and is kept on display in Clessé.