 | |
| Industry | Manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1905 |
| Founder | Gabriel Voisin |
| Defunct | 1946 |
| Headquarters | Issy-les-Moulineaux (France) |
| Products | Cars, airplane |
Avions Voisin was a French luxury automobile brand established by Gabriel Voisin in 1919 which traded until 1939. [1]
Gabriel B. Voisin was an aviation pioneer and manufacturer who in 1919 started producing cars using Knight-type sleeve valve engines at Issy-les-Moulineaux, an industrial suburb to the southwest of Paris. Former student of the Fine Arts School of Lyon and enthusiast for all things mechanical since his childhood, Voisin's uncompromisingly individual designs made extensive use of light alloys, especially aluminum. One of the company's most striking early designs was the Voisin Laboratoire Grand Prix car of 1923; one of the first cars ever to use monocoque chassis construction, [2] and utilising small radiator-mounted propeller to drive the cooling pump. The characteristic Voisin style of 'rational' coachwork he developed in conjunction with his collaborator André Noel. Noel prioritized lightness, central weight distribution, capacious luggage boxes and distinctively angular lines. The 1930s models with underslung chassis were strikingly low.
In the early 1930s, Gabriel Voisin could not pay all of his draughtsmen anymore and a young creative engineer named André Lefèbvre quit, recommended by Gabriel to Louis Renault. Lefèbvre finally entered Citroën where he led three particularly significant car projects: the Traction Avant, the 2CV and the DS, using a lot of Gabriel's lessons.
Sleeve valve (Knight) engines were used exclusively until some later models switched to Graham 3.5 litre engines. The Knight engines included: inline four; inline six; V8 (prototype); V12 - 7.2 liter, 1921 (prototype); inline twelve and a seven-cylinder radial (prototype).
After the war the business was nationalised in the political turmoil and the Government installed directors who did not continue the original engineering traditions. The Voisin business was integrated into that of its principal creditor, engine supplier Gnome & Rhône which was in turn nationalised in 1945 to form the basis for what now became the state-directed SNECMA business.
Voisin presented a "Biscooter Voisin" at the 1950 Paris Motorcycle and Bicycle Show, a voiturette intended for the impoverished age, with a front-mounted 125 cc engine from Gnome & Rhône. The aluminium-bodied vehicle had a three-speed transmission with a secondary gear and did not require a driver's license. [3] The company failed to proceed with the Biscooter and instead mandated a Mr. Moglia, previously employed by Hotchkiss to develop an alternative voiturette. Moglia's design appeared at the 1952 Paris Motor Show fitted with the same Gnome & Rhône engine, but on Moglia's design the engine was moved to the rear of the little vehicle. The braking and suspension systems were also quite different. The Moglia design was presented as the new "Biscooter Voisin", a nomenclature which at least one commentator found "abusive". [4]
The vehicle, renamed Biscúter, was adapted for Spanish conditions and about 12,000 were produced in Catalonia by Spanish firm Autonacional S.A. under license from Voisin between 1953 and 1960.
In the 1933 Universal Pictures film adaptation of H. G. Wells's The Invisible Man, Dr Kemp drives a Voisin C-3 touring car. [12]
In the 1938 film Three Comrades, a 1923 Voisin C5 is owned by one of the main characters and is seen frequently. [13]
In the 2005 movie Sahara, the car stolen from the dictator is a 1936 Avions Voisin C-28. [14] Matthew McConaughey as Dirk Pitt recognizes the car and says "It's a 1936 Avions Voisin. Six-cylinder sleeve valve engine, you know there was only six of these ever made." In actuality, the movie car is a fiberglass replica of a 1936 C-28 Avions Voisin with a 4.2 Jaguar engine and Rover automatic gear box on a 4WD chassis built by D Tessier (a well known restorer of Avions Voisin automobiles) in Tours, France. Clive Cussler (author of the novel the movie was based on) had a genuine 1936 Avions Voisin, similar to the C-28 that inspired the replica, in his Colorado museum. The movie vehicle was designed by well-known British special effects expert and stunt vehicles coordinator, Steve Lamonby and completed in four months. [15] To make the actors more visible, the roof was removed giving it the appearance of a mid-1930s four-door cabriolet. "GV" letters on the registration plate are an insider tribute to the original C-28's legendary manufacturer, Gabriel Voisin. The Voisin C-28 Sahara, as it has become known, sold at auction for US$23,400 in 2008. [16]
The 2011 video game L.A. Noire features a driveable 1938 Voisin C30 (not C7) hidden at the corner of La Brea and Sunset Boulevard, in an Alaco gas station.[ citation needed ]
The Ferrari 612 Scaglietti is an executive 2+2 coupé grand tourer manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari between 2004 and 2010. It was designed to replace the smaller 456; its larger size makes it a true 4 seater with adequate space in the rear seats for adults.
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.
The Bugatti Type 57 and later variants was a grand tourer car built from 1934 through 1940. It was an entirely new design created by Jean Bugatti, son of founder Ettore. A total of 710 Type 57s were produced.
Gabriel Voisin was a French aviation pioneer and the creator of Europe's first manned, engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft capable of a sustained (1 km), circular, controlled flight, which was made by Henry Farman on 13 January 1908 near Paris, France. During World War I the company founded by Voisin became a major producer of military aircraft, notably the Voisin III. Subsequently, he switched to the design and production of luxury automobiles under the name Avions Voisin.
Henri Chapron was a prominent French automobile coachbuilder. His carrosserie, created in 1919, was located in the Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret.
The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is an annual automotive event held on the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California. It is widely considered the most prestigious car show in the world and it is the pinnacle Concours d'Elegance competition worldwide.
Concours d'Elegance is a term of French origin that means a "competition of elegance" and refers to an event where prestigious vehicles are displayed and judged. It dates back to 17th-century France, where aristocrats paraded horse-drawn carriages in the parks of Paris during summer weekends and holidays. Over time, carriages gave way to automobiles and the gatherings became a competition among vehicle owners to be judged on the appearance of their vehicles.
La Marquise is the world's oldest running automobile, as of 2011. It is an 1884 model made by Frenchmen De Dion, Bouton and Trépardoux. The car was a quadricycle prototype named for de Dion's mother.
The Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A is a luxury car made by the Italian manufacturer Isotta Fraschini from 1924 until 1931. It was the successor to the Tipo 8 model, with a new 7.3-litre straight-eight engine to replace the 5.9-litre unit used in the previous model. This new engine could produce 115–160 metric horsepower (85–118 kW). This was the most powerful mass-produced straight-8 engine in the world at that time. The Tipo 8A was offered only with bare chassis and engine for the coachbuilders.
The Lancia Astura is a passenger car produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Lancia between 1931 and 1939. Lancia replaced the Lambda model with two models: the four-cylinder Artena and the larger, V8-powered Astura. Both of these models were introduced at the Paris Motor Show in 1931. The Astura chassis was used by various coachbuilders to create coupes, convertibles and sedans.
The Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance is an automotive charitable event held each year during the second weekend in March at The Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island in Amelia Island, Florida. A New York Times article about celebrity car ownership listed "the nation's top concours d'elegance: Pebble Beach in California, Meadow Brook in Michigan, Amelia Island in Florida, and the Louis Vuitton Classic in midtown Manhattan."
Devon Motorworks was an American car brand based in Los Angeles, California that specialized in the development of premium lifestyle products. The company was notable for being the sole bidder for the Dodge Viper.
The Dana Point Concours d'Elegance is an automotive charitable event held each year on the Monarch Beach Golf Links at the Monarch Beach Resort Resort in Dana Point, California. It is operated primarily as a Classic Car Club of America (CCCA) Concours, with additional classes showcasing interesting and relevant automobiles and motorcycles. The 2010 event was held Sunday, June 27, 2010 moving from its traditional date in September.
The Misselwood Concours d’Elegance is an American classic car and motorcycle event that takes place on the last weekend in July at the Misselwood Estate, in Beverly, Massachusetts, and has been referred to as one of the most scenic classic car events on the East Coast and New England region. The event is a fundraiser for scholarship funds for Endicott College.
A Concours d’Elegance dates back to 17th Century French aristocracy, who paraded horse-drawn carriages in the parks of Paris during summer weekends and holidays.
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.
Monterey Car Week is a week in August in which a number of car-related events are held in and around Monterey, California.
The Reactor is a custom car built by Gene Winfield. The low slung car featured height adjustable suspension, front wheel drive, and a powerful engine, and appeared in episodes of four TV series: Bewitched, Star Trek, Batman, and Mission: Impossible.
The Twenty Grand is the name given to the one-off custom 1933 Rollston Arlington Torpedo-bodied Duesenberg SJ ultra-luxury sedan. The design's initial price tag of an astronomical US$20,000 during the height of the Great Depression infamously gave it its nickname of Twenty Grand. It is widely considered to be the most beautiful Duesenberg ever built and the pioneer of the ultra-luxury car, making it one of the most valuable cars in the world at over $40 million dollars.
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