La Licorne de Stephen Micallef

OLD-001

A Unique Vintage Car Text adapted from:

I discussed with Mt. Stephen Micallef at his garage in Mosta. It was a dual opportunity talking to Mr Micallef who is an expert of vintage cars and also to admire one of the oldest cars build in Europe which is probably the oldest car in Malta.

This car was build by the French company " La Licorne ", at the beginning of this century.

Stephen who is fifty two years old, is and exceptional car admirer during his free time. He was born and raised in the car industry. Today he is the Chief Receptionist at U.C.I.M. Co. Ltd., the exclusive car agent in Malta for FIAT, Lancia, ALFA Romeo and Hyundai Cars. He started working with this company thirty one years ago.

Back at his garage in Mosta, Stephen demonstrated to me the technology of one hundred years ago, a technology which was advanced and innovated.

I asked Stephen how old is his car. He admitted that he doesn't know the date of the manufacture, because he never round any data. However, he told me that only recently engraved on the car gearbox, he round written in French, the date 7thFebruary 1898.

Brook,- Specialists and Auctioneer Valuers of London, when viewing photos of Stephen's car, said that they round the car very interesting- They also stated that in the early century, La Licorne used to buy the engines for their cars from a company called, " De Dion ". Originally, this model was bought in Malta by a Maltese shipping magnet by the name of Philip Bianchi.

Stephen Micallef recalls, " My grandmother Inez Micallef, used this car on her wedding day, eighty two years ago. This was a wedding gift from Mr. Bianchi because he was a friend of the family. It seems that Mr. Bianchi used to take his family with this car to the capital city of Valletta. An old license shows that he used to pay four pounds and four shillings for the privilege to drive the car through Strada Reale which was the main street of Valletta ".

Stephen also remembers that when he was sixteen years old, he used to stay at his grandmother's house. In one of the rooms, he used to admire the photo of his 'Nanna' Inez vintage car on her wedding day. Mr. Micallef says that he was told that Mr. Bianchi sold his car to a certain Captain John Bonavita. Stephen says that on his first attempt to buy the car he was taken aback by the army Captain who declared that he will never sell his La Licorne car. After several years and several attempts, Captain Bonavita agreed to sell the car, provided that it will be shared by Stephen's uncle, because on several occasions he attempted to buy the car. It took another twelve years for Stephen to convince his uncle to sell him the other fifty per cent of the car. Stephen admits that he considers his car as a precious jewel. He will never let anybody drive his and hates to drive his car during traffic jams."

The only time that I let somebody else drive my car was twenty three years ago. When I accepted an offer that my car should be used in the film ' Shout at the Devil ' starring Roger Moore and Lee Marvin.

For my benefit, since it was a special occasion, Mr. Micallef was road driving his La Licorne car. The starting procedure took the form of a ritual. Through a hole near the dashboard, Stephen started filling petrol to the engine. He said that the capacity of the tank was of four gallons. He said that the engine works well on today's petrol but he thinks that at the time the car was manufactured the quality of the petrol was finer.

Electrical system did not exist on cars build nearly one hundred years ago. Since the car had no fuel gage, I asked Stephen Micallef how he knows exactly the capacity of the petrol tank." Yes, this is a novelty. By means of a glass tube connected parallel with the tank, I know exactly the capacity of the petrol in the tank. "

The two large front lanterns manufactured out of solid brass, were ignited by means of a mixture of gas and water that is called acetylene. The tank where this gas is stored is on the right hand side of the driver, where while driving he could control the gas and the intensity of lights in his head lumps. The two smaller lumps near the windscreen work on a simpler system. The two lanterns were filled with Kerosene and Ewik. These lanterns were mobile and the driver when parking in a dark place could take off one of these lanterns and use them as a torch wherever he wanted to go.With the automatic starter not yet invented, the driver or a helper could start the car by turning a manual handle, which was situated at the front below the radiator. A magneto provided the necessary spark to ignite the petrol and creates energy for the engine to start.After a few turns of the handle by Stephen Micallef, the engine came to life. The rhythm of the engine was constant and the noise was very subdue.Mr. Micallef pointed out that despite it's age, his car was already fitted with inflated tyres.

I asked Stephen to read for me the speedometer of the car and whether it is still sealed. He said that the mileage on the indicator reads as 6,904 miles. He explained that the mileage is so low for a ninety years old car because the car was kept in a garage for seventy years.

Mr. Stephen Micallef feels that his La Licorne car has become part of his life.

" I wish that the La Licorne car will stay with me forever. I will never sell it, even if I receive a good financial offer. I never enquired how much it cost. I know that the price of some of these classical cars, can run into thousands of pounds. I want to be sincere and tell you that I know my car inside out. I know every bolt and nut in the car. I have other cars but this one has become part of my life. I wish to stay with my car until I die and then it will be the turn of my two daughters Roberta and Rebecca who will take care of my car ", said Stephen. During this part of the interview, when the La Licorne was parked outside the garage, a number of Maltese and tourists stopped to admire the car.

After some time, it became the centre of attraction in Mosta. Noticing all this attention to his car, Stephen had a big smile of satisfaction.He knows that wherever he goes, his La Licorne car attracts people like a jewel. Back in his garage, the classical car is kept on a special pedestal. The walls are decorated with colour photographs of other vintage cars. Under the car, there is also a red carpet. It is of national interest that one of the first products of the famous French manufacturer, which no longer exists, is here in Malta and kept in an impeccable environment. The whole scenario is dominated by La Licorne Emblem which dominates a central position at the front of the car.

The horse with wings and horn flying over the red background is kept polished and shiny at Mr. Micallef's garage.

For a small number of La Licorne owners like Stephen Micallef of Malta, despite the fact that La Licorne factory closed it's doors over fifty years ago, the French manufacturer and their cars will never fade away down memory lane and still make news wherever they may be.

Note:

Adapted from the English Translation of the feature that appeared in the Sunday Maltese Newspaper " il- Torca " (The Torch)On Sunday 14" March 1999,

written by Charles Mizzi