Cournil
| File:Cournil Logo.svg | |
| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Headquarters | Aurillac, France Saint-Germain-Laval, France |
Key people |
|
| Products | Four-wheel drive agricultural quasi-Jeeps |
Bernard Cournil was a French manufacturer who transitioned from modifying existing vehicles to creating his own models in the late 1950s. After Cournil left the industry, the manufacturing rights were transferred to several Portuguese companies. The Cournil vehicle was engineered as a multipurpose off-road utility, particularly suited for farming tasks, capable of pulling plows and outfitted with features such as power take-offs, cranes, or even mounts for machine guns.
The man
Born in Aurillac in April 1909, Bernard Cournil was an engineer who initially operated an automotive repair shop in Cantal. During the Second World War, facing fuel shortages, his workshop specialized in converting vehicles to run on wood gas generators known as “gazogène.”
Improving the Jeep
Following the war, Cournil adapted surplus American-built Jeeps for agricultural applications. When Automobiles Hotchkiss started licensed Jeep assembly in France, he became a regional dealer and, by 1954, secured his own license agreement with Willys MB for assembling these vehicles.
Moving beyond simple assembly, Cournil enhanced the Jeep’s reliability by redesigning gearboxes with cast and machined gears and replacing the original engines with more dependable diesel units sourced from Ferguson Company. By the early 1960s, dissatisfied with Hotchkiss’s chassis strength, he created his own durable four-wheel-drive vehicle—known in mining circles as the “Tracteur Cournil.” Officially recognized as a manufacturer in 1960, he introduced a proprietary chassis for the "Cournil Tracteur JA1." In 1961, a unique truck featuring sharply inclined front wings was launched to improve visibility along narrow mountain trails.
Crafted by hand and increasingly incorporating custom parts, production volumes remained limited—850 units by 1972—primarily sold within the Massif Central. After declaring bankruptcy in 1970, Bernard’s son Alain managed to produce 53 vehicles between 1971 and 1977 under difficult circumstances. In 1977, the company split: French manufacturing rights were transferred to arms producer Gevarm (part of Groupe Gévelot), while international rights went to Portuguese firm UMM; production shifted from Aurillac to Saint-Germain-Laval. In 1980, SIMI of the Belin group acquired the business and built around 560 units mainly for governmental clients until ceasing production in 1984. Subsequently, Auverland took over and unveiled a redesigned "A3" body style in 1986.
Design
The initial Cournil Tracteur (JA1) employed surplus Standard 23C diesel engines originally from the Ferguson TE20/FF30 tractors—referred to as "Hotchkiss engines"—manufactured under license at Hotchkiss’s Paris plant until 1958. This 2088cc powerplant delivered 30PS. When these Hotchkiss engines became unavailable, they were replaced in 1964 by a Leyland-derived unit ("O.E. 138"), itself based on the 23C design but produced by Standard following Leyland's acquisition. Engine displacement increased to 2260cc with output rising to 35PS; enhancements included glow plugs and an upgraded oil pump. That same year saw the introduction of a differential lock. The newer engine offered smoother performance and a higher-output version producing 54PS; this variant was named JA2. After BLMC formed in 1968, approximately fifty JA2s were equipped with less dependable 2.1-litre Land Rover diesel engines. Additional powerplants from Saviem, Renault, Indenor, and other manufacturers were also utilized.
The Gevarm-produced Cournil model—considered the first genuine production version—featured two wheelbase options: 2040mm and 2540mm. Available engines included a 2.6-litre Saviem 817 petrol unit generating 69PS (SCE14/24), a 2.1-litre Indenor diesel (XDP 4/90) producing 62PS (SCD14/24), and a larger 3.6-litre Saviem 720 diesel delivering 85PS (SCD28), initially reserved for the longer wheelbase variant. Top speeds across all versions hovered around 108 km/h. The British importer fitted a locally preferred Perkins 4.165 diesel with a displacement of 2.7 litres. Right-hand drive configurations appeared starting in 1979. Later on, the earlier Indenor diesel was superseded by a larger 2.3-litre version for the SCD15/25 models. From that same year onward, a two-litre Renault 829 petrol engine was offered (SCE15/25), detuned from its original output of 109PS in the Renault 20 TS to approximately 83PS for this application.
SIMI era
At the outset, SIMI maintained the Gevarm range but quickly launched new powertrains and a redesigned frame featuring revised measurements. Available wheelbase options included . The engine lineup consisted of PSA's 2.5-litre XD3 P diesel and 2.3-litre XD2 PS turbodiesel variants, as well as Renault/Saviem petrol engines in 2- and 3.6-litre capacities. Under SIMI's management, the shorter wheelbase variant was marketed as the "Randonneur," while the longer wheelbase version carried the name "Entrepreneur."
Auverland continued manufacturing SIMI's slightly updated models as the SC series (SC-200, -250, SC-11) and also developed a more heavily revised version known as the A-2. This lineup was eventually succeeded by the introduction of the A-3 in July 1987.
A series of afterlives
The Bernard Cournil enterprise in Saint-Germain-Laval commenced vehicle production around 1960. Beginning in 1979, manufacturing was licensed to Portuguese firm UMM, though UMM's models were not sold within France. Following acquisition by Société I.M.I. (SIMI) in 1980 and during its transition to Auverland ownership in 1983/84, the vehicle briefly appeared under the "Autoland" brand. Auverland assumed full ownership in 1982 and marketed the vehicle under its own name from 1985 onward. UMM continued to enhance the model with various engine options until ceasing production in 2004. Furthermore, Auverland's design served as the foundation for Brazil's "JPX Montez," which was manufactured between 1992 and 2002.