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| Industry | Manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1905 |
| Founder | Gabriel Voisin |
| Defunct | 1946 |
| Headquarters | Issy-les-Moulineaux (France) |
| Products | Cars,airplane |
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Avions Voisin was a French luxuryautomobile brand established byGabriel Voisin in 1919 which traded until 1939.[1]
Gabriel B. Voisin was an aviation pioneer and manufacturer who in 1919 started producing cars usingKnight-typesleeve valve engines atIssy-les-Moulineaux, anindustrial suburb to the southwest of Paris.Former student of the Fine Arts School ofLyon and enthusiast for all things mechanical since his childhood, Voisin's designs made extensive use of light alloys, especially aluminum. One of the company's early designs was theVoisin LaboratoireGrand Prix car of 1923; one of the first cars ever to usemonocoque 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 namedAndré Lefèbvre quit, recommended by Gabriel toLouis Renault. Lefèbvre finally enteredCitroën where he led three particularly significant car projects: theTraction Avant, the2CV and theDS, using a lot of Gabriel's lessons.
Sleeve valve (Knight) engines were used exclusively until some later models switched toGraham 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-cylinderradial (prototype).
After thewar 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 supplierGnome & Rhône which was in turn nationalised in 1945 to form the basis for what now became the state-directedSNECMA business.
Voisin presented a "Biscooter Voisin" at the 1950 Paris Motorcycle and Bicycle Show, avoiturette 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 byHotchkiss to develop an alternative voiturette. Moglia's design appeared at the 1952Paris 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, renamedBiscúter, was adapted for Spanish conditions and about 12,000 were produced inCatalonia by Spanish firm Autonacional S.A. under license from Voisin between 1953 and 1960.
In the 1933Universal Pictures film adaptation ofH. G. Wells'sThe Invisible Man, Dr Kemp drives a Voisin C-3touring car.[12]
In the 1938 filmThree Comrades, a 1923 Voisin C5 is owned by one of the main characters and is seen frequently.[13]
In the 2005 movieSahara, the car stolen from the dictator is a 1936 Avions Voisin C-28.[14]Matthew McConaughey asDirk Pitt recognizes the car and says "It's a 1936 Avions Voisin. Six-cylindersleeve valve engine, you know there was only six of these ever made." In actuality, the movie car is afiberglass replica of a 1936 C-28 Avions Voisin with a4.2 Jaguar engine andRover automatic gear box on a4WD chassis built by D Tessier (a well known restorer of Avions Voisin automobiles) inTours, 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 hisColorado 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 gameL.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]
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