Avions Voisin

The French engineer Gabriel Voisin (1880-1973), a great friend of Citroën, a famous aviator of the First World War and a pioneer airplane builder between 1904 and 1920, began building his own automobiles in 1919 in a factory on the outskirts of Paris. in whose activity he continued until 1939.

Gabriel Voisin had a very particular vision of the automobile, although in reality he had training as an architect and his first company, Avions Voisin, founded with his brother, was focused on the aeronautical industry. He had to reconvert his activity, mainly because after the war, aircraft orders decreased enormously. Thanks to airplanes, Gabriel founded “Automobiles Voisin” at the end of the First World War. Furthermore, one of his biggest concerns when developing his cars was passenger safety, an interest generated by the death of his brother in a traffic accident years earlier.

A particularity of the Vosiin models was the use of light materials such as aluminum, a legacy of aviation and a rarity in the 1920s and 1930s. His designs focused heavily on aerodynamics and he was a faithful defender of Knight engines. These engines have an extremely particular operation, since they lack valves and instead, moving jackets are responsible for the flow of gases, opening and closing ports as in two-stroke engines. The Knight engine was famous for its silent operation, but also for its lubrication requirements and the excess smoke it sometimes generated.

Its “superbly” radiators arranged in a V were absolutely unique and distinctive. His engines became famous for their ability to accelerate at high RPM. His first model was a 4-cylinder 4-liter capacity (3969cc), developed 18/23hp, had a 4-speed transmission, and reached a speed of 70/80 mph. This model was optimized in the following years and was produced for almost 10 years.

As an anecdote we can mention that, in 1923, Rudolph Valentino, impressed by these cars, acquired 2 units, a convertible for himself, and a closed one for his wife, an actress named Rambova.

In 1922, he introduced a much smaller 4-cylinder vehicle, with a wheelbase of 117 inches. The engine was 1.2 liters.

In 1926, Voisin introduced its first 6-cylinder, 2.4 liters. The wheelbase was 126 inches and it had 3 speeds. This model was improved in 1928 to reach 4.9, with a wheelbase of 141 inches and 4 speeds. The production of this model was probably influenced by the special 8-liter models that had achieved the 24-hour world record in 1927 at an average speed of 113.4 mph and the absolute world hour record at 128 mph.

In 1929, a fabulous V12 engine was announced, with a capacity of 3.9 liters and a 4-speed transmission. Another V12 with 5.8 liters of capacity was also produced.

In 1934 Voisin produced a 12-cylinder car, built with 2 blocks of 6 to obtain the center of gravity closest to the geometric center of the car.

One of the company's most famous cars is the Voisin C25 Aerodyne, whose body with rounded shapes at the rear and its incredible sliding roof caused a sensation at the Paris Motor Show in 1933. It represented Gabriel's particular vision of fashion. Art Deco and stood out from the rest of the cars present, regardless of the brand. Also extremely special was the Voisin C26, which was a “representative sedan” type version with an equally very personal design, announced at the same Paris Motor Show but which was not very successful… The same happened with the Voisin C27, whose most famous and striking version is the Aérosport of 1934. It also had a convertible body designed by Figoni of unquestionable beauty. We cannot pass up the Voisin C28 Aerosport either, the first car in history that had fenders integrated into the body (this type of design was called a “pontoon”), which was as innovative in the 1930s as it was irresistible in the middle of the century. XXI. In addition to its spectacular design, it had Lockheed hydraulic brakes on all four wheels, something unusual at the time, and a four-speed manual transmission plus overdrive with a preselector. A car that was so spectacularly expensive to make that it scandalized fans and potential customers. Avions Voisin automobiles were permanently discontinued in 1939.

Source:

• https://www.autopasion18.com: AVIONS VOISIN (1919 - 1939)
  https://www.autopasion18.com/HISTORIA-AVIONS%20VOISIN.htm
• https://www.eventosmotor.com: VOISIN, UN FABRICANTE MUY ESPECIAL
  https://www.eventosmotor.com/blog-premium/voisin-un-fabricante-muy-especial/