1929 Minerva AK Hibb & Darin Towncar
Sylvain de Jong of Antwerp built cycles before the 1900s but also built his first car prototype by 1899. The early years saw cylinder counts at 1, 2, 3, and 4. Minerva, The Goddess of Automobiles, built mostly grand automobiles, although they were known for rather mediocre cars by the mid-1930s. An early Minerva customer was King Albert. Postwar, the factory built Jeeps, Land Rovers, and Armstrong-Siddeleys.

Their prime years are represented well by this example of a 1929 AK Hibb & Darin Towncar, built from 1927 to 1937. Riding on a 149-1/2" wheelbase, it is powered by a strong straight-six producing 150bhp from 6 litres. These 6 cylinders being put to the test to move this 2-1/2 ton car to 70mph top speed. The shorter "sport" version AKS was able to reach 90mph. The engines used were double-sleeve valve Knight engines and eventually turned into to serious overhaul projects. Dodge engines were later used in some cars.