A relatively short-lived French marque, Gladiator produced motor cars from around 1896 to 1920, latterly as a division of Vinot et Deguingand. Société Gladiator had been founded in 1891 in Pré St Gervais by Paul Aucoq and Alexandre Darracq to manufacture bicycles, and a few years later was taken over by a British consortium headed by Harvey du Cros. The latter had recently bought Adolphe Clément's bicycle interests and the newly formed Clément-Gladiator-Humber company soon expanded its activities to include tricycles, quadricycles, motorcycles and automobiles. The first Gladiator cars were rear-engined, single-cylinder voiturettes boasting tubular steel frames and handlebar steering. They were also sold under the Clément-Gladiator name, Adolphe Clément being a prominent board member, as was the notorious fraudster Harry J Lawson.
By 1899, front-engined, Aster-powered models equipped with wheel steering had superseded the originals. Gladiator's biggest market was the UK, which was taking 80% of production by 1903, at that time running at more than 1,000 cars annually. Somewhat confusingly, similar cars bearing the names 'Clément-Gladiator' and 'Gladiator' were being made in the same factory, the essential difference being that the former had shaft drive while the latter were chain driven.
In Britain, Gladiators were distributed by the Motor Vehicle Company Ltd, which had been founded in 1899 by du Cros and S F Edge. Australian-born Selwyn Edge was a prominent figure on the emerging motoring scene in Britain and is associated with a number of makes including Napier (of which he was a director), Clément-Panhard and AC, owning the latter for most of the 1920s. He was also a pioneering racing driver, winning the Gordon Bennett Cup in 1902 at the wheel of a Napier and setting a new 24-hour record at the newly opened Brooklands track in 1907 that would stand for 18 years. Ever mindful of the value of publicity, Edge entered his protégé, Dorothy Levitt, in various events in 1903 including the Southport Speed Trials, in which her Gladiator won its class. Levitt would go on to become the most famous and successful lady racing driver of her day, gaining the sobriquet 'Fastest Girl on Earth' when she set a new Ladies' World Land Speed Record in 1905.
In October 1903 Adolphe Clément resigned from Clément-Gladiator, though the cars continued to bear his name for the next few years, and in 1909 the firm was sold to Vinot et Deguingand, which transferred production to its factory in Puteaux. From then onwards the two ranges became ever more similar until in 1920 the decision was taken to drop the Gladiator name.
Little is known of the previous history of this imposing 14hp (3.2-litre) Gladiator Demi-limousine other than the fact that it was owned by John Caperton of Kentucky, and it was he who applied for dating in 1974. He had apparently brought the car into the USA from Argentina. It was 'dated' in 1974, but no certificate or dating plate was issued at that time, pending completion of the restoration and registration. The Gladiator seems to have been imported into the UK by Stephen Langton some time around 1982 and again, no certificate could be issued because the car was not registered. A certificate was finally issued in 1992, but the certificate number is from the original 1974 application (if it had been a 1992 application the number would be very much higher). The registration has since been changed from 'DS 6621' to the current 'BS 8135'. The Dating Certificate notes a non-original carburettor, and we are advised that the trembler coils have been replaced (originals with car). Both the VCC Dating Certificate and V5C document are on file.
