This Brasier(?) the first car ever seen by Fangio..? ( UPDATE: Clément 18-28hp 1908 )

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Some fabulous photos came in form Roberto Marenzi form Argentina. He writes:
Maybe somebody can help identify this car, I jumped to the conclusion that it was a Brasier(?) but now I’m not so sure, could it be a Pipe? The pictures were taken during WWI; the city scene is Mar del Plata, most important seaside resort in Argentina and the country scene, not far way, in Balcarce. Standing next to the car(click), with foot on the running board, is my maternal grandfather, James Hope Brown and sitting at the back are my grandmother Margaret, with my uncle Albert on her lap and my aunt Elisa standing, I don’t know who the lady with the hat is, I also don’t know who the man with the straw hat is, but he’s holding my uncle Finlay.
Until the end of WWI, my grandfather was leasing a farm in Balcarce, home town of Juan Manuel Fangio, who was born in 1911, same year as my aunt Elisa, this makes me think this car may be amongst the first he ever saw. Can’t have been many around in that area in those days. Notice in the city scene(click), the predominance of horse drawn carriages and the bystander’s curiosity.


Various updates among which Malcolm Jeal came up with conclusive evidence: The guys who have said that it could be a Clément-Bayard are close. It is actually just a plain Clément of 1908, made by the Clément-Gladiator concern which Adolphe Clément had parted from in 1903. The story is too complicated to go into detail about here, (and it is not that well covered in the Beaulieu Encyclopedia either!). However, attached is a quick scan from 'The Autocar' of 1908(click) which besides showing the same radiator and overall design of the car, is notable for giving a clear view of the unusual 'dropped' front axle that these Cléments used at that time. It really does remove any possible doubt.

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