Photo: RM Sotheby's
Back during an era when photographs were either black-and-white or sepia-toned, making a car was a thing of the arts rather than an engineering challenge. One of the greatest examples of no-nonsense automakers from back then is Avions Voisin.
The 1930s and 1940s in the French automotive industry were the decades when coachbuilders had a knack for breathing art deco cues upon the body shells of automobiles. The 1935 Avions Voisin C28 Aerosport is a great case in point, yet look at it for a minute. Doesn’t it look like it’s more at home in dieselpunk land rather than art deco world?
Whichever way you want to classify the styling, the truth is that this is one seriously sexy beast from days long gone by. Slated to go under the hammer later this month at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey Auction, the estimate on the C28 Aerosport is available upon request. Why’s that, you might wonder? First thing’s first, nobody really knows how many were made. Eight, ten, there’s no proper evidence to that.
Secondly, the C28 Aerosport is often regarded as being the masterstroke of Gabriel Voisin, the mastermind behind the Avions Voisin brand. Oh, and another thing. The C28 Series is the carmaker’s last hurrah. As it is befitting for a last hurrah, the engine which lurks under the hood of this magnum opus was technically advanced for its era. More to the point, it’s a 3.3-liter six-cylinder sleeve-valve engine, made so that it was both powerful and smooth.
Other highlights that make the C28 Aerosport a four-wheeled VIP of its generation come in the form of the three windshield wipers, humongous sunroof, the Cotal pre-selector tranny, and Lockheed hydraulic brakes. Yup, the same Lockheed which is now known as Lockheed Martin. You know, the aerospace juggernaut behind the F-117 Nighthawk and SR-71 Blackbird.
P.S.:Did you know that Gabriel Voisin wasn’t just enthusiastic about cars and automotive engineering? He was also a philosopher, poet, musician, artist, architect, industrialist, and an aerodynamicist (Voisin used to make planes during World War I). Top lad.
Whichever way you want to classify the styling, the truth is that this is one seriously sexy beast from days long gone by. Slated to go under the hammer later this month at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey Auction, the estimate on the C28 Aerosport is available upon request. Why’s that, you might wonder? First thing’s first, nobody really knows how many were made. Eight, ten, there’s no proper evidence to that.
Secondly, the C28 Aerosport is often regarded as being the masterstroke of Gabriel Voisin, the mastermind behind the Avions Voisin brand. Oh, and another thing. The C28 Series is the carmaker’s last hurrah. As it is befitting for a last hurrah, the engine which lurks under the hood of this magnum opus was technically advanced for its era. More to the point, it’s a 3.3-liter six-cylinder sleeve-valve engine, made so that it was both powerful and smooth.
Other highlights that make the C28 Aerosport a four-wheeled VIP of its generation come in the form of the three windshield wipers, humongous sunroof, the Cotal pre-selector tranny, and Lockheed hydraulic brakes. Yup, the same Lockheed which is now known as Lockheed Martin. You know, the aerospace juggernaut behind the F-117 Nighthawk and SR-71 Blackbird.
P.S.:Did you know that Gabriel Voisin wasn’t just enthusiastic about cars and automotive engineering? He was also a philosopher, poet, musician, artist, architect, industrialist, and an aerodynamicist (Voisin used to make planes during World War I). Top lad.
Google News