Feb 1, 20223 min read

The first craft cars made in Algeria

If Algeria has never really developed an industrial automobile activity, it has however known some artisanal achievements. We present some of them to you.

The Swallow

In 1957, a black foot made a car entirely by hand in his mechanical garage in Bab El Oued, a car he called Hirondelle, 2 places, maximum speed 100km-h. Perhaps the first car made in Algeria.

The tray Decorbez

Built in Algiers in the late 50s in Algiers on the basis of Dauphine Gordini. This astonishing tray ran into the hands of Mr. Decorbez. Bought in 1993 and completely restored in 1994 by Ets Decombas (red with light brown leather interior) it was then sold in the Loire department in France. The car is still in France.

The Merlin Special

Manufactured in 1955 in Annaba (formerly Bône), this unique example is based on a completely rebuilt Peugeot 402 with an engine prepared for a Peugeot 203. It was sent after independence to the South of France where it will undergo a renovation that will not be completed following the death of the restorer, it then disappears to reappear in the United States of America.

The SIM-CACHIA

The SIM-CACHIA rolling prototype from 1959 created by the Cachia brothers from Algiers, professional mechanic and bodybuilder. Two years of work to make it in their spare time in their garage Chemin Blaise Pascal in Algiers. Made entirely of hand-shaped aluminum and weighs only 590kg. Arrone's 1500cm3 engine will then be replaced by an 1800cm3, maximum speed 160km/h at 6200 rpm. 4-speed gearbox and hydraulic clutch. This vehicle will participate in the Bouzaréah hill climb in 1959.

Unfortunately, the car crashed with a truck and ended up in the scrapyard.

Farman winch car

It is more a modification than a manufacture, but the added system remains original and ingenious, the vehicle was transformed in Constantine in 1940.

The smallest cars in the world

Here are two cars built in Algeria and considered among the smallest in the world according to newspapers of the time.

Desert Ship

Prototype made by the German Christian Bischoff in 1932 nicknamed the "Desert Ship" is a vehicle 40 m long and 13.5 m long, wheels of 12 m. capable of carrying 150 passengers, in reality it is a liner on wheels to cross the Sahara. Unfortunately, it never saw the light of day.

Mina 4

The day after September 23, 1967, the day of its presentation, the newspaper El Moudjahid wrote on its front page: "Here is the first Algerian car", and then repeated the declaration of the secretary general of the UGTA, during the presentation of the prototype: " Mina 4 is a victory for the workers of Self-management”.

The Mina 4 is an all-terrain model concept (4X4), with a fiscal power of 5 HP and a payload of 300 kg. A unique prototype was built by an Algerian coachbuilder, El Mokrani. It is the work of 8 Algerian technicians.

The Galboisienne

In 2016, Mohammad Yasaad, a very talented welder, originally from the city of El Anasser in the Bordj-Bou-Arreridj wilaya, known for his love of his city from a very young age, made a car with his own means, which he appointed himself.

Electric car

Oussama Touaba, a researcher at the Center for the Development of Renewable Energies (CDER) and he invented, in 2017, a 100% Algerian electric car. 2.5 meters long and with an all-aluminum body, it is light and handy with a weight of 200Kg. The car is equipped with two motors with a power of 1.2 kilowatts (equivalent to 1.7 horsepower) with a top speed of 40km/h.