Category Archives: Voisin

The Essence of the Car – Voisin C23

By David Roots

Text and photographs copyright of the Author(s) unless otherwise stated.

Introducing the latest offering from The Essence Of The Car. It is a model of a Voisin C23. The 17CV rated C23 was introduced in 1931 as a mid sized model between the 13CV cars and the 28CV and 33CV luxury cars. It was fitted with a new 3 litre six cylinder engine.

The razor-edged style was typical of Voisins in the early thirties and featured Voisin’s patented minimalist rear sidelights, art déco interior fabrics and the famous side luggage boxes with their characteristic locks.

The car was well received and approximately 335 C23 models were built

With this model, I have pushed my mould making technique to be able to incorporate the distinctive mudguard mounted headlights.

It is available from the usual website www.theessenceofthecar.co.uk and can be found in the Classic Cars Collection.


We welcome your comments and questions.   Please go to our Model Auto Review Facebook page or email the Editors at maronlineeditor at gmail.com.

Essence of the Car – Voisin C25 Saloon

By David Roots

Text and photographs copyright of the Author(s) unless otherwise stated.

The first model this year is a Voisin C25 Saloon.

With the onset  of the financial crisis of the early 1930s, luxury manufacturers like Voisin were  hit particularly hard because many of the company’s loyal customers simply could no longer afford to indulge. As unconventional as the cars he produced, Gabriel Voisin’s solution to the quickly dwindling sales was at best counter-intuitive. Instead of switching to simpler models and broaden the potential customer base, he stepped up and developed some of his most advanced models yet.

The C25 Aerodyne was the first of a new three-model range and was previewed at the 1934 Paris Auto Salon. Using a modified version of the earlier C24 chassis as a basis, this prototype mainly served as the preview of Voisin’s new design direction and for the first time in many years Gabriel Voisin was solely responsible for the lines, following a split with his usual designer. Although some of the familiar Voisin cues were retained the aptly named Aerodyne design was considerably smoother and aerodynamic.

The nose of the new four-door saloon was still vintage Voisin. It is the fastback rear that set the Aerodyne apart from the previous designs. The completely integrated trunk facilitated the most striking feature of the car, namely the sliding roof. The roof was powered by two vacuum pumps fitted in the trunk which enabled the entire roof to slide back. To maintain rearward visibility the roof was equipped with several portholes that lined up with the rear window.

Production lasted until early 1937 by which time only 28 examples were built, seven of which were Aerodynes. Today only a handful of these fabulous machines remain because they were difficult to maintain and constructed from metals that proved very valuable during the War.  At the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours d Elegance, a beautifully restored C25 Aerodyne was awarded ‘Best In Show’.

It is available to buy from the usual website: www.theessenceofthecar.co.uk


We welcome your comments and questions.   Please go to our Model Auto Review Facebook page or email the Editors at maronlineeditor at gmail.com.

The Essence of the Car – Voisin C27 Coupé

By David Roots

Text and photographs copyright of the Author(s) unless otherwise stated.

The Voisin C27 followed tradition and sported a coupé body constructed by the works. The design was the combined work of Gabriel Voisin and designer Andre Noël-Noël Telmont, who was an architect by trade and met Voisin during their study. Not only did Noël-Noël help design the two-door coupe, he was also the first owner. Not to be confused with the later C28, this C27 coupe also received the ‘Aerosport‘ name.

After the car was shown at the 1935 Geneva Motorshow, this unique Voisin was owned for over ten years by Noël-Noël. He eventually sold it and after several owners, it eventually ended up in the hands of marque expert Saliot Garage. Today it is owned by a French Voisin enthusiast who brought it out for the 2006 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance where Voisin was the featured marque. Possibly for the first time ever, it was lined up alongside the only other C27 ever built.

As usual, more details about the model can be found from our website: www.theessenceofthecar.co.uk where models may also be purchased.


We welcome your comments and questions.   Please go to our Model Auto Review Facebook page or email the Editors at maronlineeditor at gmail.com.

The Essence of the Car – Voisin C6

By David Roots

The latest model from The Essence Of The Car is the Voisin C6 Laboratoire, being the second of the three finishing marques in the 1923 French Grand Prix. Having made his name for himself in aviation when the Great War ended, Gabriel Voisin diversified into the automobile industry and some truly beautiful road cars through the 1920s and 1930s.

In 1922 he won the Grand Prix de Tourisme in the C3 touring bodied road car. The organisers were angered by Voisin’s rather liberal interpretation of the rules and banned Voisin from the 1923 race. Voisin responsed by designing an entirely new racing car, the C6 Laboratoire.

Not having an engine to meet the current 2 litre Grand Prix formula, Voisin decided to use one of his own engines which was less powerful that his rivals. To compensate for the lower power of the engine André Lefèbvre was asked to design a lightweight car with good aerodynamics. The chassis was made using airframe techniques, a wood frame having lightweight metal sheet riveted to it and metal brackets bolted through in load bearing areas. The C6 design was the first time a monocoque chassis was put to work and probably the first time that aerodynamic shaping was used to aid stability, as well as speed, on a racing car. The rear wheels were tucked inside the body having a track width of only 750mm. This clearly helped the airflow over the rear of the car.

A team of four cars was entered for the 1923 French GP but not being fully tested, did not fare well. The lightweight aerodynamic body was not enough to compensate for the lack of power, even after the rear differential was removed to reduce weight. Unfortunately lack of power wasn’t the only problem. The propeller driven water pump used to cool the engine was insufficient to meet the engines cooling needs. Only one of the team cars finished the race, that driven by the designer himself. Lefebvre finished in fifth, and last, place. This turned out to be the best result that the C6 would achieve.

Any lack of high profile results cannot detract from a truly innovative design, the benefits of which remained unrealised until the Lotus 25 of 1962.

The model is available from www.theessenceofthecar.co.uk


We welcome your comments and questions.   Please go to our Model Auto Review Facebook page or email the Editors at maronlineeditor at gmail.com.

Autocult Q4 2019

By Maz Woolley

This article looks at the releases from Autocult spanning three months from September 2019. As ever these are resin cast in China to 1:43 scale for Germany. 333 pieces of each model are made and they are not repeated. Autocult choices of model cover a wide range of subjects from mundane commercial vehicles never modelled before to cars made by designers which did not progress beyond the prototype stage.

Release 9/2019

#01009 Voisin C3 S “Strasbourg Grand Prix” France 1922

Gabriel Voisin produced the C3 from 1922. It was powered by a four litre engine producing 81 hp. It was generally sold as chassis and fitted with coach built bodywork.

A sports version of the car was prepared for racing and aerodynamic extended body sides were fitted so the car so that it could meet the minimum width limits for the racing class entered. The car took the top three positions, though having said that the competition consisted of only two Peugeots!


#06021 Mazda MX-5 Miata Concept Duo 101 V705 Japan 1984

The MX-5 has been a best seller for Mazda easily filling the gap which used to be filled by small British and Italian sports cars especially in the US. The design came after a discussion between US motoring journalist Bob Hall and Mazda’s Chief Engineer Kenichi Yamamoto. Bob Hall said that he saw big potential for a small, light, simple convertible which was fun to drive.

Mazda then set their US and Japanese Design Centres the same brief and the US Duo 101 concept, as modelled by Autocult, was preferred. At this point International Automotive Design from the UK were engaged to prepare a running prototype which gained approval as the MX5 launched in 1989.


#11011 Buick Float USA 1946

The 50th anniversary of the US automotive industry was marked by an impressive parade in ‘Motor City USA’: Detroit. On the 1st of July 1946 General Motors drove their parade at walking pace through the main streets of the city. Marching bands accompanied the floats and vehicles and provided the musical entertainment.

GM’s eye-catcher was s special Buick float, as modelled by Autocult. The float featured a Buick front end inspired by the latest cars bursting from a cylindrical shape and with a tapering cone spearing its way to the rear. Thsi was very futuristic and meant to catch the public eye. This was mounted on a platform bearing Buick’s famous slogan ‘When better automobiles are built Buick will build them’.


Release 10/2019

#04022 Burney R-100 Streamline, GB 1930

29 year old Commander Sir Charles Dennistoun Burney wanted to use rapidly evolving aviation technology to make car bodies. He was not concerned with making engines or chassis focusing on building streamlined bodies fitted with independent suspension, flexible cables, and four wheel hydraulic brakes.

Burney’s car was revolutionary with parts carefully smoothed or made integral to aid aerodynamics. A rear engined layout was used to allow the front to be styled to aid airflow. The prototype shown had a three litre Beverley engine was fitted at the rear behind the rear axle. Each of the thirteen cars build by Streamline Cars were different and intended to show of the technology as the early Beverley engines were unreliable later cars were fitted with Armstrong Siddeley or Lycoming units.

Sadly though innovative the weight of the rear mounted engine meant that the car had poor handling in the wind or rain. Streamline Cars closed in 1936 and the Burney never went into series production though Crossley produced 25 cars as Crossley-Burneys under licence. It was left to the Czech Tatra to bring a streamliner into long term series production.


#05030 Citroen 15CV 6 Antem France 1948

The Citroen 15CV was a great success, comfortable, efficient, and with excellent road holding and promoted Citroen to being a top French manufacturer in the pre-war period. So innovative was the design that it was soon back in production in 1946 after the Second World War.

Antem was a firm who specialised in coach building bodies on chassis supplied by luxury Manufacturers like Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz, or French makes like Delahaye. The model made by Autocult shows Antem’s re-working of the Citroen 15CV with flowing wings and extended rear section. Antem did not survive long in the difficult market for custom made bodies in the post-war era closing in 1955.

Little else is known about this car.


#08012 Mazda Rotary Pick-Up Japan 1974

Mazda were early pioneers of the Wankel Rotary Engine having licensed technology from Audi-NSU in 1960. Their first rotary engined cars were launched in 1970 and proved to be rather more reliable than the German units that brought NSU to its knees. Though they were just as uneconomic.

They made the world’s first, and only, pickup truck from 1974 and it was sold in the US and Canada where the twin rotor motor gave 110 BHP and spirited performance. 15,000 units were sold in the three years that it was on sale.

Mazda have produced no further rotary engined commercial vehicles though they have presented rotary cars from time to time. The heavy fuel consumption as well as the challenge of meeting ever tightening emission standards limit the appeal of this technology which was once regarded as revolutionary.


#09011 VW LT 50 Niesmann & Bischoff Clou Trend 670 F, Germany 1988

Clou means ‘highlight’ in German. And this camper body was certainly intended to be a highlight in the camper scene by its makers. The camper body was designed to fit to chassis cab units from the major commercial vehicle manufacturers . This was a premium unit which was well-equipped but a very expensive addition to your chassis.

The VW LT was a popular basis for all sorts of campers from the basic to the luxurious like this one. It was robust and reliable though basic and not particularly quick.


Release 11/2019

#02020 MG Mini M-Type GB 1963

The original Mini was an outstanding sales success, if not a financial one. It spawned fast versions in association with Cooper Works, and luxury ones restyled front and rear and sold as a Riley Elf or Wolseley Hornet.

The Autocult model represents a prototype built by BMC but never put into production, though some have replicated it. A Mini body was taken, fitted with a John Cooper tuned A series engine, and the front end of the Riley Elf adapted to use an MG style Grille. The rear of the car was left like a Mini and did not have the Elf’s extended boot structure.


#04023 Röhr 8 Typ F Stromlinie Germany 1932

Röhr made cars to appeal to rich buyers and failed to find enough buyers in the difficult sales conditions of the early 1930s closing in 1935. The car modelled by Autocult was a critical success when shown at Geneva, Paris, and Berlin Motor Shows in 1932 and 1933. Powered by a straight six, three and a half litre engine designed by Ferdinand Porsche.

Most of the cars made by Röhr were luxury saloons but the Streamliner was very eye-catching and is probably the best remembered of their vehicles today


#05029 Neretti I Belgium 1964

In the early 1960s Belgian Roland D’Ieteren, a Volkswagen and Porsche importer, wanted to launch a car brand to sell to the Mexican market.

His Nerretti project was built on a Volkswagen chassis fitted with the 1600cc engine, and topped with a fibre glass body. It was presumably intended that the car would be built in Mexico on locally produced Volkswagen chassis and with fibre glass bodies made locally too. However although one prototype was built which still exists today series production never happened


#06035 Porsche Experimental Prototype Germany 1985

The Porsche Experimental Prototype, (P.E.P.) was a multi-functional test car made by the Porsche factory in the mid-Eighties. It was built as platform to test a wide range of components together and had four exchangeable modules: Chassis, Driver’s Cab, Front end, Back end.

P.E.P. was used to test the handling of the car with different drive systems and different weight distribution. P.E.P.’s basic drive train powered all four wheels but it was also laid out so that the car could be only front- or rear driven. Additionally it was possible to adjust the wheelbase of the test car. The multifunctional structure of the concept was such sophisticated that it was even possible to fit the engine in the front instead of in the rear.

The concept vehicle was widely publicised and after that Porsche did not seem to have any interest in using or developing it further.


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1:10 Scale Hand-Made 1923 Voisin C6 Laboratoire

From Jerry Broz

Hand-Made 1923  Voisin C6 Laboratoire to 1:10 scale

The text is by, and copyright of, Jerry Broz. All photographs are by, and copyright of, Yves Bertola.

This article shows a handmade 1:10 scale model of a unique full size Avions-Voisin C6 Laboratoire Formula One race car that ran in Grand Prix ACF de Tours 1923.  At a later date part two of this article series will look at the details of the race, the car and its designers, Gabriel Voisin and Andre Lefebvre, as well as the commercially produced and hand crafted models of the Voisin C6 Laboratoire.

It has been 40 years since this meticulously handmade, proportionally correct model was made.  Frenchman, Yves Bertola, was 30 years old when a few black and white vintage photos, and the principal dimensions of Voisin C6 Laboratoire were printed in the first issue (Nov./Dec.1978) of the bi-monthly magazine “The Enthusiast“.  The article sparked his passion for this technologically and aerodynamically advanced race car, which was significantly different in comparison with the other contemporary race cars.
He decided to build a model of this car not realising he was taking on
quite an endeavour to make this model.

Before he began building the model he had to make a series of detailed drawings. In 1977, there were no personal computers with CAD, no three-view engineering drawings or any other documents readily available for this car. The scale engineering drawings for this car were made the old fashion way, i.e., with ink pen on drafting paper, a ruler, a protractor, and other manual drafting tools.  All drawings were painstakingly extrapolated from the perspective and the position of the photographer. Yves Bertola was able to transform all this, along with technical data, front and rear track, wheelbase, wheel and tire size, etc., to get right proportions.  Finally, after numerous tests, verification, and comparisons, the three-view drawings were ready to be used to build the model. When personal computers arrived in 1990s the pen and ink drawings were redrawn on AutoCAD.

The 1;10 scale model of the Voisin C6 Laboratoire race car is a
quintessentially handmade model, as there is not a single part of the model produced commercially. Absolutely everything is painstakingly “hand-made“.  In fact, relatively simple hand tools were used to build the model. No lathe, no milling machine, or hand held power drill/grinder, only a soldering iron and small hand tools (shears, files, hand drill, sanding blocks, jeweller’s saw, etc.). Most of the model is made from brass pieces such as 0.5mm sheets, rods and tubes of various diameters, flat and extruded H profiled strips, nails to represent rivets, mini fasteners, chrome paperclips, glove leather, thin sheets of steel, very fine wire mesh, etc. Forty years ago the materials and various small pieces commonly used in model making today were unavailable.

The wooden base of the seat is padded with foam and the leather is stretched over it and glued to the base.  The front and back of the wheels are made from a brass sheet, with the front bent to a slightly conical shape and the wheel halves soldered together.  The tires are made from the round rubber rod, cut and the ends glued together and then carefully fitted onto the wheels. The dashboard dials were
drawn at a large scale and cleverly reduced to correct size on the photocopier and then glued into the eyelets.  There are other handmade parts of the model that required ingenious and imaginative methods to create such as the hood leather belt, steel
cables, shock absorbers, wooden body sides protectors, windshield frame, suspension leaf spring clips, etc.

When Yves Bertola visited automotive dealership in Nimes, he met an 82 years old gentlemen who worked as a mechanic in 1923 when he was 23. As a mechanic he had an opportunity to work on Tours’ Voisin C6.  The retired mechanic said that the Voisin C6 was not blue, but had the color of eggshells, sand, or cream.  In the 1923 photos from Tours’, the Voisins C6 were apparently of aluminium
color.  Unfortunately, there is no credible or substantiated information whether the Tours’ Voisins C6 were painted or not.  And if they were, what was the colour.

The following photographs show in great detail the exceptional 1:10 scale model of the Voisin C6 Laboratoire built by Yves Bertola.

 


Thanks to Yves Bertola for the information about this unique model and for his photographs. 


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