Simon Clay, RM Sotheby’s.
If in the world of French gastronomy snails and frog’s legs are acquired tastes, in the world of French automobiles Avion Voisin is a brand for connoisseurs of the unusual. Or, as those who appreciate the automaker’s unparalleled design, claim, it’s downright amazing. In conjunction with the London to Brighton Veterans Car Run, RM Sotheby’s auction to be held at London’s Marlborough House on November 4th will feature pre-war vehicles including a rare 1931 Avions Voisin C14 ‘Chartres’ It is promised that a number of masterpieces will be exhibited.
To appreciate the Avions Voisin is to appreciate everything that is so great about French cars, and this is a contrarian. And artistic. Like many early car manufacturers, Avions Voisin was founded by Gabriel Voisin in his 1905 year and its roots were in aviation. An aircraft engineer and graduate of the Lyon National School of Fine Arts, Voisin was destined to create a car informed by both engineering and art.
Voisin began producing the vehicle in 1919, and true to the aeronautical origins of his vehicle, much aluminum was used in the construction of the body and components. A closer look at Voisin’s work reveals an artist’s eye behind his stunning castings, whose beauty complements the practicality of the lightweight metal. The C14 model was produced from his 1926 to his 1932 and was powered by a 2.3-liter inline six-cylinder engine. His C14, with power-assisted brakes and a gearbox with overdrive, was very modern for its time. The car was well-received and over the course of its life, 4,000 of his chassis were decorated in various ways.
The Art Deco movement first emerged in France in the 1910s and was in full bloom by the 1920s, influencing everything from fashion and furniture to art and architecture. Voisin’s “Chartres” body style of the early 1930s was created at the height of Le’s Deco period and featured low, sloping, rectilinear forms with sharp, distinctive angles, and was reminiscent of Le’s more brutal modernist architecture. reflected in different ways. More Corbusier than decorative. Perhaps it’s no surprise that the architect owned his 1925 Voisin C-7 and always instructed photographers to feature it in front of new buildings.
Avion Voisin’s cars are modest on the outside, but the interior is one of the liveliest, most joyfully cacophonous cabins of any automobile of any era. Chassis number 28599 is believed to be his one of only two of his C14 ‘Chartres’ built. Little was known about the car’s early history until it was discovered in an old woman’s barn in 1965 by Voisin expert and restorer Yves Dalmier. Later, another Voisin expert, Pascal Courteau, determined that the aluminum body was original to the chassis and was unusual for a car of this age.
Between 2004 and 2006, a complete nut-and-bolt restoration was carried out by noted Voisin collector and restorer Philippe Mock, returning the car to its original black color. Of note is the interior, which retains small fragments of the original Paul Poiret pattern fabric. From these samples, skilled weavers recreated the vibrant red and white designs using jacquard looms.
The restored car won first place in the Voisin 1927-1933 class at the 2006 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Purchased by the consignor in 2011, it also won the “Special Jury Prize” at Chantilly Arts & Elegance in 2015 and was exhibited at the “Cartier Style & Luxe” competition at the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Estimated to cost between $305,000 and $430,000, this Art Deco gem proves once again that art and automobiles are not mutually exclusive concepts.
Click here to see more photos of this 1931 Avions Voisin C14 “Chartre” car.