1934 Avions Voisin Model 27 Aerosport Coupe
One of two made, this coach-built car featured a short, underslung wheelbase and a 3-liter straight 6 generating 104 HP and a top speed of 93 MPH. While the styling, largely by Andre-Noel Noel Telmont (an architect and Voisin collaborator and original owner of this car), still attracts all the attention, the engine was so unique Voisin patented it. Instead of poppet valves and push rods, Voisin used moving sleeves around each piston to control intake and exhaust ports. It resulted in a quieter engine that could handle much higher RPMs, but also left a telltale exhaust haze when oil slipped between the sleeves.
As for the styling, it boasted a striking cloth interior with an abstract geometric design and an innovative vacuum powered, sliding retractable roof that completely opened the car to the elements. The somewhat angular, eclectic body style was typical of Voisin as he and Telmont attempted to capture both aircraft and Art Deco design cues. Telmont owned the car for over ten years after its debut at the 1934 Geneva motor show. In the mid-1950s it was owned by marque expert Robert Saliot, whose son drove the Aerosport back and forth to school! It was restored to its current condition by Philip Moch in 2004.
Being very conscious of weight, Voisin typically built aluminum bodies and always did his own coachwork, as he assumed other coach builders would make the cars too heavy. The result here is a spectacular vehicle to see in person. I caught up with this car at the 2011 Kirkland Concours d’Elegance. It has also won first in class at Pebble Beach and is owned by Peter Mullin of the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, CA. The Mullin Museum dedicates itself to all things Art Deco. This car’s estimated worth is well over $3 million. In all, Voisin produced about 20,000 cars.
Gabriel Voisin (other sources) was an enigmatic, prolific and creative inventor of things. Besides manufacturing cars, Voisin was a pioneer aviator, airplane builder and architect. Some say he even built and flew a powered airplane before the Wright brothers, but is officially recognized as the first man other than the Wrights to build a self-powered airplane. He built aircraft through WWI, becoming the first to attach gunnery to an airplane and amassing a fortune by supplying about 2,000 military airplanes during that time, and building over 10,000 aircraft overall. In 1929, he also invented what we know as ABS or anti-lock brakes. After the “Great War,” it is said he lost his appetite for airplanes after seeing their use as a military weapon. So, he turned to manufacturing automobiles and successfully did so until his retirement in 1958. Voisin built top notch luxury vehicles before WWII, but after he concentrated on cars for the masses. He also designed and sold what were some of the first prefabricated homes. He died on Christmas Day, 1973 at the age of 93. Yet another colorful personality of the early 20th Century.
