| Industry | Automotive |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1923 |
| Defunct | 1997 |
| Services | automotive design, coachbuilding |
Antem Carrossier (initially: Antem & Monroig or Antem Monroig & Guyot) was a French coachbuilding company that, in the period between the world wars and a short time afterwards, produced high-quality one-off bodies for luxury car chassis, as well as some bodies in small series production.
The founder of the company was the Spaniard Jean Antem (1893–1972), who was born as Juan Antem either in Barcelona [1] [2] or in Palma de Mallorca, depending on the source. Antem's father had a wheelwright business in Catalonia. [3] After completing an apprenticeship as a blacksmith in Spain, Jean Antem moved to France in 1910. In the following years he worked in Paris for various body manufacturers. Some sources state that he also completed training with Van den Plas. It is not clear whether this was the Belgian company Carosserie Vanden Plas or the independent Paris company Willy van den Plas. [1] Antem returned to Catalonia during the First World War, but went back to Paris immediately after the armistice in 1918. In 1929 he took French citizenship and changed his first name from Juan to Jean.
In 1919, Antem founded an automobile repair shop in the Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret. After the Spaniard Camille Monroig took a stake in the company, this became the company Antem & Monroig, which was based in Neuilly-sur-Seine and produced bodies for automobiles from 1924 onwards. In 1924 Antem & Monroig exhibited for the first time at the Paris Motor Show. In 1925 the company got another shareholder; it then traded as Antem Monroig & Guyot. Four years later, Antem took over the shares of its business partners. The company was then called Antem Carrossier. [4] After the end of the Second World War, Antem moved into new premises in Courbevoie.
The importance of Antem among coachbuilders of that era is assessed differently amongst sources. Some sources consider the company to be one of the leading French coachbuilders of the interwar period, [1] while others see Antem as "one of the best of the second set". [3]
In the 1930s, Antem manufactured exclusive one-off bodies on chassis from Delahaye, Talbot-Lago and Bugatti; There were also occasional bodies for Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce, and other chassis. However, small series orders for Ariès and Corre La Licorne ensured economic survival during this time. [4]
After the end of the Second World War, Antem resumed body production. The company focused primarily on the luxury manufacturer Delahaye, with Antem supplying a large portion of the bodies for the Delahaye Type 235. Stylistically, the structures were considered heavy and conservative. [4] A number of individual bodies were also created, including a coupé body for the last Bugatti Type 101 chassis (chassis number 101.504), which in later years temporarily belonged to the actor Nicolas Cage. At times there were close business relationships with the small series manufacturer Deutsch Bonnet, for whom Antem not only manufactured some road vehicles based on the 2 Liters model (1949), [5] but also bodied some racing vehicles. A number of individual bodies were also built on Citroën chassis. These were often pontoon-style coupés, and more rarely four-door sedans, some of which had expansive bodies with free-standing fenders. A small four-door sedan was also created as a one-off on the chassis of the Citroën 2CV. Many of Antem's bodies of this era were designs by Philippe Charbonneaux, including the 2CV sedan.
In 1955 Antem ended production of automotive bodies.
One of Antem's sons moved the business to the town of Doudeville in Normandy. There the company manufactured vehicle trailers and cabs for tractors. Operations ceased in 1997.
Vanden Plas is the name of coachbuilders who produced bodies for specialist and up-market automobile manufacturers. Latterly the name became a top-end luxury model designation for cars from subsidiaries of British Leyland and the Rover Group, it was last used in 2009 to denote the top-luxury version of the Jaguar XJ (X350).
Talbot-Lago was a French automobile manufacturer based in Suresnes, Hauts de Seine, outside Paris. The company was owned and managed by Antonio Lago, an Italian engineer that acquired rights to the Talbot brand name after the demise of Darracq London's subsidiary Automobiles Talbot France in 1936.
Delahaye was a family-owned automobile manufacturing company, founded by Émile Delahaye in 1894 in Tours, France. Manufacturing was moved to Paris following incorporation with two unrelated brothers-in-law as equal partners in 1898. The company built a low volume line of limited production luxury cars with coachbuilt bodies; trucks; utility and commercial vehicles; busses; and fire-trucks. Delahaye made a number of technical innovations in its early years; and, after establishing a racing department in 1932, the company came to particular prominence in France in the mid-to-late 1930s, with its Type 138, Type 135SC, and type 145 cars winning numerous races, and setting International records. The company faced setbacks due to the Second World War, and was taken over by amalgamation with arch competitor Hotchkiss in 1954. Both were taken over by the Brandt organization, within mere months, with automotive product manufacturing ended.
The Burton is a Dutch sports car based on the Citroën 2CV technology. The Burton is an open, nostalgic-looking sports car built on the chassis of the 2CV with a modern fiberglass body-kit. The car can be built as an open two-seater, or with a hardtop with gull-wing doors or with a custom made convertible roof. From the beginning of 2002, Burton is available all over Europe.
A coachbuilder or body-maker is a person or company who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles. Coachwork is the body of an automobile, bus, horse-drawn carriage, or railway carriage. The word "coach" was derived from the Hungarian town of Kocs. A vehicle body constructed by a coachbuilder may be called a "coachbuilt body" or "custom body".
Henri Chapron was a prominent French automobile coachbuilder. His carrosserie, created in 1919, was located in the Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret.
Abbey Coachworks Limited was a British coachbuilding business based in Merton, South West London and later Acton, North West London. It was active between 1930 and 1938.
Carrosserie Pourtout was a French coachbuilding company. Founded by Marcel Pourtout in 1925, the firm is best known for its work in the decades prior to World War II, when it created distinctive and prestigious bodies for cars from numerous European manufacturers. Pre-war Pourtout bodies were mainly one-off, bespoke creations, typically aerodynamic and sporting in character. Together with chief coach designer and stylist Georges Paulin from 1933 to 1938, Pourtout pioneered the Paulin invented 'Eclipse' retractable hardtop system on four models of Peugeot, several Lancia Belna's and other car makes.
Among the company's customers was Georges Clemenceau, the physician and journalist who served as the prime minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and 1917 to 1920.
The Delahaye 135 is a luxury car manufactured by French automaker Delahaye. Designed by engineer Jean François, it was produced from 1935 until 1954 in many different body styles. A sporting tourer, it was also popular for racing.
Saoutchik was a French coachbuilding company founded in 1906 and based in Neuilly-sur-Seine near Paris. The company was one of the best-known coachbuilders in France in the 1920s and 1930s and, together with Figoni et Falaschi and Franay, is considered the most important representative of the “Baroque” style in French coachwork in the 1930s and 1940s.
The Delahaye 235 is a luxury car built by French manufacturer Delahaye from 1951 until 1954.
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Figoni et Falaschi is a French luxury brand and coachbuilder firm which was active from 1935 through to the 1950s. The designs were created by Giuseppe Figoni, while his partner Ovidio Falaschi ran the business.
Carrosserie Vanvooren was a French Coachbuilder based in the north-western Paris suburb of Courbevoie. The company concentrated on producing car bodies for luxury cars, being closely associated, during the 1930s, with the products of Hispano-Suiza, Bugatti, Rolls-Royce and Bentley.
Letourneur & Marchand, located in the prosperous Paris suburb Neuilly-sur-Seine, was a car body manufacturing business which became one of the last French coachbuilders.
The Delage D8 was an eight-cylinder luxury car produced by Delage between 1929 and 1940.
Franay was a French coachbuilder operating at Levallois-Perret, a suburb on the prosperous north-western edge of Paris. The company was founded in 1903 by Jean-Baptiste Franay, a carriage upholsterer, following an apprenticeship with Binder. It was later taken over by his son, Marius. Franay car body production stopped in late 1955.
Carrosserie Worblaufen, F. Ramseier & Co. was a Swiss manufacturer of car bodies headquartered in Worblaufen near Bern from 1929 to 1958. The company is different to Carrosserie Ramseier in Bern and Biel.
Pichon-Parat was a French carrosserie based in the commune of Sens, in the department of Yonne. Established in 1952, it was known for producing custom cabriolet, coupé, estate car, and shooting brake conversions of established models from major automakers, and for building their own distinctive sporting models with completely original bodywork.
Carrosserie Gaston Grümmer was a French coachbuilder founded on July 30, 1924, who designed and produced individual bodies for luxury automobiles in the period between the world wars. In the 1930s, Grümmer was considered a pioneer of lightweight construction and aerodynamics.
 Coachbuilders of France | |
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