Latil was a French automaker specializing in heavy duty vehicles, such as trucks, tractors and buses, from 1898 to 1955.
Contents |
In 1897, Auguste Joseph Frederic Georges Latil patented a system of "broken transmission", allowing the steerable wheels to be also the driving wheels (front-wheel drive).
He exploited his idea through different companies :
| External images | |
|---|---|
| TAR | |
In 1911, Latil designed and built the first four-wheel drive vehicle. This type of vehicle interested the French Army in 1913 for its ability to tow heavy artillery on every field and the TAR (Tracteur d'Artillerie Roulante) was built. The buyers of this vehicle could benefit from a 30 percent rebate in compensation for mobilization in case of war.
After the World War I, Latil began to build tractors for agriculture and forest exploitation and trucks for civil engineering.
In 1955, Latil was merged with Somua and Renault's truck and bus producing operations to form Saviem.
