Martini (automobile company)

Promptly, his British sales agent, Captain H. H. P. Deasy, set off in a 16 hp on a 2,000-mile (3,200 km) trek through the Alps, which followed his earlier stunt of driving a cog-wheeled Martini up a mountain railway; his praise in both cases was effusive.

That year's Coupe de Voiturettes saw 1086-cc (66 ci) inlet-over-exhaust SOHC-engined Martinis seventh, eighth, and tenth, enough for the team victory.

[2] The years leading up to the World War were Martini's best, with annual production hovering around 600 cars, placing the company at the head of the Swiss automobile industry.

[3] While foreign manufacturers were already making inroads, the war years kept Martini in the black as they delivered large numbers of vehicles to the Swiss Army.

[3] A conventional four-cylinder of 3.6 litres displacement, it was wholly outdated in spite of a high standard of finish, with sales beginning at a low pace and then steadily sinking.

While sold as the "Martini Six" at home, the "Steiger" (meaning "Climber", suitably enough for a Swiss car) part of the name was emphasized in export markets where it was the "Steiger-Martini."

This was badged Martini KM but it did not sell as well as hoped, likely the result of being a rather heavy car with low peak power and a weak chassis.

The KM differed from the W11 only in minor details such as a marginally longer wheelbase and larger tread, altered gearing, and by using Scintilla lights and magneto rather than Bosch ones.

[7] The KM was likely intended only as a stopgap vehicle, as Walther Steiger had charged his old friend and engineer Paul Henze to develop an all-new front-wheel-drive car.