The 9,5 HP is one of the first examples of small and light cars produced by Darracq, a category that was to become the strong point of the French company. It was donated to the Museum in 1934 and only two years later it became the protagonist of Cavalry, an Italian movie starring Amedeo Nazzari in the role of a horseman. Nazzari’s character was partly inspired on Italian flying ace Francesco Baracca, who also inspired Enzo Ferrari’s symbol, the “prancing horse”. Due to technical reasons, the 1281 cc single-cylinder engine was always kept off during the filming of the movie, but in 1902 it had already had its moment of glory during the “Nice Race Week”, when Paul Baras recorded a great score in the speed race and the five registered Darracqs –one of which is probably the model exhibited here- ranked in the first five places of their class.
