beginning of 1904, production was again suspended for lack of money. The Spanish businessmen Damian Mateù and Francisco Seix then finance on June 14, 1904 the new company Hispano-Suiza Fabrica de Automóviles SA in Barcelona. King Alfonso XIII of Spain ordered a 20/24 hp Hispano-Suiza chassis and assured the company of his full support. He awarded Birkigt the title of Knight of Isabella the Catholic in 1908. A new factory was built in Sagrera and sales offices were created in Geneva and Paris, then in the rest of Europe. A sales license was granted to the Swiss company SAG (Société d'automobiles à Genève) of Lucien Pictet and Paul Piccard. The latter marketed the Hispano-Suiza models under this name until 1908. Marc Birkigt presented two new chassis at the 1907 show: a 4-cylinder 40/45 hp and an imposing 6-cylinder 60/75 hp with 11 litres of displacement decorated with the brand's emblem: two wings (symbol of speed), in the center a white cross (Swiss symbol) on the Spanish colors. In January 1911, Marc Birkigt moved to Paris with a new factory in Levallois and then in Bois-Colombes in 1914 with agencies all over the world. King Alfonso XIII was then one of the main shareholders of the brand. Success of aircraft engines in France In 1914 when the First World War broke out, the factories were placed under the control of the company Gnome et Rhône. Marc Birkigt then developed a light aircraft engine in Barcelona for the Spanish government. The 150 hp Hispano-Suiza 8 a 90° V8 engine introduced the innovative concept of light alloy cylinder blocks. From 1915 the French air force successfully equipped itself with 40,000 of these engines, which enabled them to fight on equal terms with their German counterparts. This machine powered the SPAD S.VII plane of the Stork Squadron ace Georges Guynemer; and so the stork is now associated with Hispano-Suiza. At the end of the war Marc Birkigt returned to Paris. He devoted himself to luxury automobiles such as the Hispano-Suiza H6, to take advantage of the new fortunes made during the war. In between two wars until the 1950's In 1923, the French subsidiary acquired its independence and was baptized Hispano-Suiza. Birkigt joined forces with Michelin in the 1930s to create a railcar: the famous Micheline. After having built more than 2,500 chassis, Hispano Suiza was nationalized by the French state in 1936. Marc