1963 Rene Bonnet Le Mans Grand Luxe

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | March 16, 2014

Photo – Osenat

French sports cars in the 1950s were from a limited number of companies. And for whatever reason, a couple of them ended up as Rene Bonnet-branded cars. Rene Bonnet was a race car driver who started building his own cars in 1936. In 1946, he co-founded Deutsch et Bonnet (aka DB). In 1961, Charles Deutsch went his separate way and Automobiles Rene Bonnet was formed.

The Le Mans was a sports model introduced by DB in 1959. From 1962 through 1963 (production actually ended in 1962), the Le Mans was marketed as a Rene Bonnet. His version used a 1.1-liter straight-four making 70 horsepower – the most powerful version of the Le Mans ever offered.

The Le Mans was built as a convertible or a coupe and the Grand Luxe was the expensive, loaded version with a removable hard top – which this car has. Only 232 Le Mans’ were built between both manufacturers. This could be one of as few as 59 built under the Bonnet name. It should sell for between $35,000-$40,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Osenat’s sale.

Update: Not sold.