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thumb|Ardex from 1952–1955

Ardex was a small French automobile manufacturer controlled by Marcel Tamine and based in Nanterre.

In September 1939 France declared war on Germany and in June 1940 the German Army rapidly invaded and occupied Northern France. The war years were characterised by a desperate shortage of raw materials for civilian industry and of petrol. Their experience of producing very small lightweight cyclecars now encouraged Ardex to develop several little cars powered initially by electric batteries and later by pedal power during 1942 and 1943.

Production ended in 1955.

The Ardex name was then acquired by Max Sardou, a French engineer. He went on to create the Ardex S80, which was entered in the 1981 24 Hours of Le Mans as a Group 6 Prototype but failed to qualify. It was powered by the BMW M88 3.5L from the BMW M1 and paired to a Hewland five speed manual transmission.

See also

  • Cyclecar
  • Microcar

References

  • Microcar Museum
  • A brief guide to various Ardex cars
  • Cuttings of magazine adverts for numerous obscure French vehicles including Ardex cars
  • Another example of an Ardex photographed in 2009