Avions Voisin

For great pictures and lots of info (if you are fluent in le Francais) go to the Avions Voisin Association.

Interesting perspective on the "debate."

I don't think it's so much a debate on Voison as it is about aesthetics of the car that won Pebble Beach. Some like the design, most don't. No one suggested that Gabriel Voison's engineering was not worthy.

The restoration on Mullin's car is so spectacular, you can't help but appreciate it. In my opinion, though, aesthetics takes a back seat to condition at Pebble, which is mandated in that the only cars elegible to win Best of Show have to first win Best of Class, which is determined by points only. Kind of gives a new definition to concours d'elegance, in my opinion... concours écouter.

Perhaps a Voisin Pebble Beach best of show winner (2002) we can all agree on.

Except for the "you know whats" mounted to the wheels.

I wonder just what type of modifications were made to the fenders and cowl during restoration.

I think people would be surprised by the number of PB best of show winners that have been "tweaked" during restoration. I can think of a particular Mercedes that had the spares moved from the fenders to the rear. Whatever the modifications, I can't imagine the car looked better prior to them.

Here is one with a Dubos body that I like but may not be universally loved. At this point they were using supercharged Graham engines. I recall this car selling at one of the Pebble Beach auctions.

EDIT: Note the subdued original colors and the showy later transformation.

Does a prewar car get any cooler than this? Voisin C28 Aerosport with the Knight patented sleeve valve straight six.

That one is my favorite, I think. Perhaps because it's completely original, not restored. Or it was last time I saw it in person. It looks restored, now????

Has anyone seen the stereo brochure,,the one needing those funny glasses to see,,

I think was around '26--33 maybee Kitty said her grandfather made very nice cars,,Ben

Is it just me, or does the first photo at the top of a page have a profile that closely resembles a Citroen 2CV except for the hood? (Or inspired the 2CV)

I'll comment here since this seems to be more of an "appreciation" thread, but I rather like the PB winner, the line extending from the cowl through the subtle curve of the lower door glass opening then leads visually into the arc of the rear fender profile. Very elegant and not immediately noticeable to the eye, but recognized by the brain instantly. My favorite form of auto design are those that require you to try to figure out why you perceive an automobile in a certain way, despite what you think you see at first glance. So many fine details here, truly like admiring a sculpture in a museum garden, I would enjoy viewing it unrushed on the greens somewhere.

I do agree that the flat top versions look best, a more mean-spirited design that evokes even greater emotions, but they still retain the cues I've noted.

While I may not prefer the support strakes, they are evocative of the company origins and reminiscent of bi-plane wing supports.

I don't personally love the interior either but I appreciate it, especially when you consider the context of the era. We know it's wild today, but imagine what it must have looked like at the time!

BTW, your Zephyr is one universally appealing beauty. Enjoy her!

Thanks, Marrs: I sort of think of the Zephyr coupe as a poor man's Delahaye . BTW, even though my first *running* car was my Mustang, my first car of any sort was a 1963 MB 220SEb which I bought when I was 13 with my paper route savings. Needless to say, my folks were nonplussed, but I actually made a $200 profit when I sold it -- still not running -- 9 months later

That must have been one long summer delivering papers, but perhaps they were less costly when you found yours. I had my share of non-runners/pipe-dream cars as a kid, I went in on two cars with different friends, one was a '63 Cadillac hearse the other was a Jaguar MKX sedan (I already had an XJ6L that was my daily). Neither of those cars ever moved, but we lost money on both. My first running car was a 1957 Cadillac Series 60, leghorn beige with the most lovely original bronze painted metal and tapestry interior. 50,000 original miles, I think I will post looking for info on that car in the Cadillac forums now!

Interesting article on Voisin in today's L.A. Times. Thanks in part to Peter Mullin, there is renewed interest in spending big bucks on the cars. Seems like Voisin was quite a character and went out in lavish style, surrounded by women and luxury.

Interest in the Voisin brand among classic car collectors revs up - latimes.com

It'd be interesting to hear about Voisins from someone who both owned and worked on them. You get the impression they were essentially what was called an "assembled" car as were Elcar, Gardner, Jordan in the US, perhaps more akin to Auburn-Cord, which used existing Lycoming engines, despite the fanciful Gallic styling. France enjoyed a system of smooth, well-established roads long before we did, and Paris is flat, nothing like Pittsburgh, PA or San Francisco, so wildly overhanging coachwork is a wee bit more practical there-- the French always more willing to suffer for fashion than us.

From what we've heard, the Knight sleeve-valve engine is one of those constructs that sounds better than it really was, a notorious oil burner. Smooth as any inline six has natural balance, but at a cost in horrific oil consumption.

Anyone amongst those here gathered have real world experience, long trips, casual use of Voisins? Meanwhile, would love to hear more about the three Voisin inline 12s; a pair of existing sixes end-to-end. Bore/stroke, did they have a periodic? How were they, really? Only three were built, the back of the rearmost block intruding upon the driver's compartment, disguised as a console. Equally, it'd be a nice comparison with the one-off 1929 Packard monobloc straight 12 as this is about all we could find:

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