Imperia (car)

Imperia Automobiles was a Belgian automotive factory. The brand name was revived in 2009 to market a hybrid sports car based on research from the company Green Propulsion.

Impéria was a Belgian automobile manufactured from 1906 until 1948. Products of the Ateliers Piedboeuf of Liège, the first cars were designed by the German Paul Henze. These were four-cylinders of 3, 4.9, and 9.9 litres. The next year, the company moved to Nessonvaux, Trooz municipality, and began production in the old Pieper factory. Impéria produced a monobloc 12 hp (8.9 kW) in 1909; in 1910, the company merged with Springuel.

The Nessonvaux factory began producing Impéria-Abadals from about 1916; in 1921, it built three ohc 5.6-litre straight-eights. These were quickly replaced by an ephemeral ohc 3-litre 32-valve four-cylinder which was capable of going 90 mph (140 km/h). This was followed by an 1100 cc side-valve 11/22 hp four designed by Couchard, one of the first cars ever built with a sunroof. Its engine rotated counterclockwise, and its transmission brake also served as a servo for those on the front wheels. In 1937 a six-cylinder of 1624 cc appeared; this had been available in three-carburettor Super Sports form from 1930.

Over the course of four years, Impéria took over three other Belgian car manufacturers: Métallurgique (1927), Excelsior (1929), and Nagant (1931). From 1934 until the company folded it built mainly front-wheel-drive Adlers with Belgian-made coachwork. The company merged with Minerva in 1934, but they split in 1939.

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