Tag Archives: voisin

The Last Voisin

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1938 Voisin C30 Cabriolet by Dubos

Offered by Gooding & Company | April 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

The C30 was the final Voisin road car. Sure, there was a post-war prototype, but this was the last real model from the company. Coupes and convertibles were offered, but only about 30 chassis were completed in total. The Mullin museum had a copy of each.

This one has cabriolet coachwork by Dubos. Earlier Voisins utilized Knight sleeve-valve engines, but by this late in the game, Voisin had switched to a more modern powerplant (but still American): a supercharged 3.5-liter Graham-Paige inline-six (interestingly, Gooding described the last C30 as have a 3.6-liter engine).

This car entered the museum in 2008 and has been on display since, so it’ll need some work if you want to use it. The estimate is $150,000-$250,000. More info can be found here.

Voisin C28 Clairiere

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1935 Voisin C28 Clairiere Berline

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | February/March 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

Well, once the world found out that the Mullin collection was getting dispersed, we all should’ve prepared ourselves for some Voisins to come to market. This C28 is one of two known with “Clairiere” coachwork, a style that was introduced on the earlier C25 chassis.

The C28 is powered by a 3.3-liter Knight sleeve-valve inline-six rated at 110 horsepower. Of the two known to exist, the other is locked away forever in the Schlumpf hoard in France. So if you want one, this is it.

It has known ownership from knew, having been first delivered in Berlin in 1936, despite being titled as a 1929. It was owned by the Voisin family in the late 1990s and came into the current collection in 2010. The catalog carries a very reassuring disclaimer that the car has been in storage and “may not be currently operational.” So, you know, maybe it runs. The estimate is $350,000-$450,000. More info can be found here.

Voisin C30 S

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1938 Voisin C30 S Coupe

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | March 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

Gabriel Voisin was a visionary designer – of both automobiles and aircraft. But brilliance doesn’t necessarily transfer over to business skills. By 1937 Avions Voisin had been reorganized under SADAV, and the new heads of the company tapped Voisin to design a new car.

It would be his final pre-war design. Long known for their use of Knight sleeve-valve engines, Voisin would shift away from them for the C30 and move to the (likely) 3.6-liter supercharged Graham inline-six. Only about 30 C30s were built before the war put an end to production.

This is said to be the only “C30 S” Coupe produced. It bounced between two owners between 1945 and 1998. For the next 10 years it resided with one owner and was sold in 2008, presumably into the Mullin collection. You can read more about it here.

Voisin C5

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1925 Voisin C5 Faux Cabriolet by Besset

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | September 17, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

Here’s something I did not know: Voisin’s “Cx” naming convention is in honor of his late brother, Charles. The first Voisin, the M1, was actually developed by Andre Citroen and purchased as a design by Voisin before being re-christened the C1.

Fast forward a few models and we have the C5, which was offered between 1923 and 1928. It is powered by a 4.0-liter Knight sleeve-valve inline-four that produced 100 horsepower and could push the car to 78 mph. More impressive is that the car had power-assisted brakes from the factory.

Carrosserie Besset of Annonay, France, provided the faux cabriolet coachwork with a fabric-covered fixed roof with fake landau bars. The story on this car is that it was discovered in France and restored in Switzerland “over a period of years” that is then listed as “1975-2006.” A period of years is perhaps an understatement. In any case, it now has an estimate of $115,000-$150,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Voisin C14 Lumineuse

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1927 Voisin C14 Lumineuse

Offered by Gooding & Company | London, U.K. | September 3, 2022

Photo – Gooding & Company

We’ve featured a Voisin C14 before, and we’ve featured this body style on a different Voisin model. But when a car looks like this, it’s hard not to pay it special attention. The C14 was produced from 1927 to 1932, a fairly long time, and was an evolution of the earlier C11, which itself was Voisin’s first six-cylinder car. But still, they only made 1,795 of them in that time.

Power is from a 2.3-liter sleeve-valve inline-six that was rated at 66 horsepower. Factory bodies included four-door sedans, two-door coupes, and this, the Lumineuse, which had a lot of glass, most of which slants inward as it moves up.

The paintwork here is a real attention-grabber. Not the original scheme, it was inspired by an artist’s hand-drawn Vogue cover of an open Voisin wearing a similar paint job. All of these things (Voisin. Lumineuse. Crazy paint) add up to one thing: an estimate of $330,000-$425,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $232,847.

Voisin C1

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1921 Voisin C1 Limousine

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 3, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

Aviation pioneer Gabriel Voisin tried his hand at automobile production beginning in 1919. As the name might suggest, the C1 was the company’s first product. It would remain in production for a few years before being succeeded to quite a few different models.

Like all early Voisins, the car is powered by a Knight sleeve-valve engine. In this case, a 3.9-liter inline-four. The car was first registered in 1921 and was upgraded by the factory in 1925 with C3 brakes.

The body is a limousine with a partition between the front and rear passengers. The car was commandeered by the Germans during WWII and was purchased by the current owner in 1961. This early Voisin carries an estimate of $100,000-$150,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $143,628.

Voisin C4 S

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1926 Voisin C4 S Two-Door Sedan

Offered by Artcurial | Gibel, France | TBD…

Voisin C4 S
Photo – Artcurial

Voisin built some fantastic luxury cars during its existence. At some point, Gabriel Voisin realized that he would have to build some volume models in order to survive. In 1921, he launched a small sedan called the C4.

It evolved into the C4 S in 1924, and that model lasted through 1926. It is powered by a 1.3-liter sleeve-valve inline-four that made 33 horsepower. This car is said to wear unique bodywork that is quite squared off at the front and more aerodynamic out back.

The car has been in this collection since 1968 and has not been used in recent years. It probably needs a little re-commissioning, but it’ll make for a cheap entry into Voisin ownership with a pre-sale estimate of $28,000-$39,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $37,108.

Voisin C23

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1930 Voisin C23 Conduite Interieure

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Essen, Germany | April 11-12, 2019

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The C23 was a model produced by Avions Voisin between 1931 and 1936. In all, 335 examples were built, which was a pretty successful number for Voisin. Despite their extraordinary appearance, only 15 are thought to have survived.

This car is powered by a 3.0-liter sleeve-valve inline-six that made around 80 horsepower. The body was Voisin-designed and built, with its very cube-like center section. Go to RM’s site and check out the photos – the car looks downright menacing from the straight-on front view. Also worth of note is the interior, which is trimmed in a pretty wild pattern, like many other Voisins.

This car has known history dating back to 1985, and it was restored between 2005 and 2008. It is being offered from a Swiss collection and is estimated to bring between $340,000-$450,000. Click here for more info and here for more from RM in Germany.

Update: Sold $310,103.

Voisin C11 Cabriolet

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1928 Voisin C11 Cabriolet by Simon Pralavorio

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 8, 2019

Photo – Artcurial

The C11 was Voisin’s best selling-model and was offered between 1926 and 1929. What is neat about this particular car is that it is a two-door convertible with a rumble seat. So many Voisins received sedan or streamlined coachwork that it’s almost weird to see a “sporty” looking variant.

Power is from a 2.3-liter sleeve-valve straight-six, and this car is said to be heavily optioned with mechanical equipment from the factory. The body is a one-off from Lyon-based Simon Pralavorio. It should bring between $105,000-$150,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Voisin C16 Berline

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1929 Voisin C16 Berline by Ottin

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 8, 2019

Photo – Artcurial

The C16 was a model produced by Voisin between 1929 and 1932. However this car left the factory, the current body was added by Ottin of Lyon in 1932 and it’s a four-door sedan. The style is somewhat sedate by Voisin standards, but then again the wildest designs always came from in-house.

This car is powered by a 5.8-liter sleeve-valve straight-six and it was expensive when new, costing three times as much as the 2.3-liter variant. That said, this is the only known 5.8-liter C16 known to exist. It is listed as the “flagship” of the collection from which it is being sold – a family that has owned a handful of Voisin cars since new. Fun fact, this car (as are the others we’ll feature from this collection) are listed as national French monuments and as such, are unable to leave the country. This one should bring between $100,000-$150,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $128,471.