The C3L, which is different from the C3C (though I’m not exactly sure how), was offered by Voisin between 1922 and 1928. It is described by the auction catalog as the “car used by Presidents” which I guess means these were quite stately in their day.
They are powered by a 4.0-liter sleeve-valve straight-six and were capable of speeds over 75 mph. This car was also bodied by
Update: Sold $60,885.
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
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.
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.
The C3L, which is different from the C3C (though I’m not exactly sure how), was offered by Voisin between 1922 and 1928. It is described by the auction catalog as the “car used by Presidents” which I guess means these were quite stately in their day.
They are powered by a 4.0-liter sleeve-valve straight-six and were capable of speeds over 75 mph. This car was also bodied by
Update: Sold $60,885.
Photo – Artcurial
Gabriel Voisin’s cars are usually a little on the wild side, this one being no exception. Dubbed “Lumineuse,” or light, you can see from just the lone picture above how strange this car appears. The greenhouse bows inward as it rises and the use of glass on this car is one of the most original I’ve ever seen. The front windscreen folds outward, the windows retract inside the car (but not inside the door). It makes it look like the top just lifts right off (but it doesn’t).
The engine is a 2.3-liter Knight sleeve-valve straight-six. The interior is, of course, some strange pattern that suits the car perfectly. The exterior is done in an almost-military-brown and it’s quite understated as well. The wheels sit at the four corners of this car, with practically no overhang from the body, which is all aluminium, making it very light. And I love the weird forward-facing spotlight hanging off the rear of the car.
It sounds as if there has been ongoing work on this car since 1973. It certainly isn’t fresh but it does look quite nice and is evidently quite usable. The C11 was the most-produced Voisin product but only three Lumineuse-bodied examples are known to exist. It’s quite creative and very cool. It should bring between $305,000-$425,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Update: Sold $365,050.
Photo – RM Sotheby’s
It seems like there is maybe one of Gabriel Voisin’s automobiles that trade hands each year. This year, it looks like this beautiful, windswept C28 Cabriolet is the one you can get your hands on. The C28 was introduced in 1936 and we featured a relative of this car previously.
Voisin used sleeve-valve engines in his cars. This car is likely powered by a 3.3-liter straight-six with a power rating of 102 horsepower. Racing cars they were not. Instead, these were mechanical marvels with beautiful coachwork and sometimes wild interiors. This is one of the more restrained Voisins I’ve seen come up for sale. Part of the reason is that the coachwork was done outside of the factory, something that, while common in its day for cars of this stature, was quite uncommon for Voisin.
The body was designed by R. Saliot, a Voisin service center. They didn’t have the ability to actually build the body, so they outsourced their design elsewhere. This car is one of two with coachwork known to have been designed by Saliot (the other one won Pebble Beach). It was actually applied to this chassis when it was about 10 years old, which is why it looks a little post-war.
It is known that a monk acquired this car before selling it at auction in the late 1960s. Restored in the early 2000s, it comes from a “prominent” collection. Only about 60 C28 Voisins were built and this one is the only one quite like it. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Update: Not sold.
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Avions Voisin was Gabriel Voisin’s car company that he set up in 1919. He had already sort of conquered the air with his planes, so he switched his focus to the earth and its roads. If Voisin built cars today, they’d be called wildly impractical and flashy. But because he did it in the 1930s, they are called gorgeous. All of these words are correct, but gorgeous is the most correct.
Interestingly, Voisin chose the Knight-type sleeve-valve engines for use in his cars – the true engineer’s choice. This car uses a 3.3-liter straight-six making 102 horsepower. This was not the fastest car of its day (it’ll do 90+), but good lord, once you start looking at the details and the flawless design, power and speed cease to matter.
Something to note about Voisin’s cars: there aren’t a lot of them that have some fancy coachbuilt body. In fact, Gabriel himself designed this body and it exceeds what you will find from most coachbuilders. It’s Art Deco from front to rear and this two-door sedan has an unbelievable retractable sunroof that opens the entire top above the driver and front-seat passenger. As is the case with most Voisin’s, the interior is outstanding.
This was the first of two C28 Aerosports built. This one was actually damaged in WWII and rebuilt as a four-door sedan afterward. Discovered in 1980, the car was restored to its original glory after the current owner acquired it in 1998. With this car you are buying a moving, driving, piece of art. Click here for more info and here for more from RM Sotheby’s.
Update: Withdrawn from sale.
Photo – Bonhams
Belsize was an English manufacturer that was around from 1902 through 1925. They were known for their small cars – some used two or three cylinder engines. This car is powered by a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine making 14/16 horsepower. The model was produced from 1909 through 1913.
This is the oldest known four-cylinder Belsize (of 12 that still exist). This car has known ownership history from new and has been restored twice over its life, with the most recent restoration having been carried out nearly 30 years ago. It’s entirely roadworthy and would be a great tourer. It should sell for between $70,000-$86,000. Click here for more info.
Update: Sold $55,402.
Photo – Bonhams
Clyno was quite the large operation in England between 1909 and 1929. At one point there were the third-largest motor manufacturer in the U.K. They built motorcycles and nearly 40,000 cars during their existence. Yet, few remain today.
This car is powered by a 1.4-liter straight-four making 10 horsepower. It was produced between 1922 and 1928 and was far and away Clyno’s biggest seller, with approximately 35,000 built. Clyno got too big too quickly and their reliability suffered. When the Depression set in, bankruptcy came. This example was restored in 2012 and should bring between $19,000-$23,000. Click here for more info.
Update: Sold $19,261.
Photo – Bonhams
The Flint Roadster (yes, that was the name of the marque) was built by A.B.C. Hardy and his Flint Automobile Company between 1902 and 1904 in Flint, Michigan (if that wasn’t obvious). Only one model was available and it cost $850 when new.
The engine is an eight horsepower single-cylinder displacing 2.3-liters. Hardy didn’t play by the rules of the day and faced numerous lawsuits that effectively shut his business down. Only 52 Flint Roadsters were ever built. It is unknown how many remain but this car is entirely original (although the tires look to have been replaced). It spent much of its life in storage and would need a thorough mechanical overhaul to become roadworthy. It should sell for between $34,000-$39,000. Click here for more info.
Update: Sold $40,273.
Photo – Bonhams
The Star Motor Company of Wolverhampton should not be confused with the entirely separate make that operated in the U.S. under the Durant Motors corporate umbrella. The English Star was active from 1898 through 1932. At one point Star was one of England’s largest automobile companies, peaking prior to WWI.
The 15HP model was built between 1909 and 1913 and was offered with a range of four-cylinder engines. This one was restored in the 1980s and is a driver. It should bring between $55,000-$63,000. Click here for more info.
Update: Sold $42,024.
Photo – Bonhams
Voisin automobiles are fascinating. Gabriel Voisin is widely recognized as an engineering genius and his cars reflect that. Many of them feature Knight sleeve-valve engines, unique (and sometimes outrageous) coachwork and Jazz Age interiors.
The C12 was built between 1926 and 1933 and uses a 4.5-liter straight-six. Only 60 C12s were built and only three are known to survive. This is the only one that has a body on it (the other two are bare chassis). The body is by R. Duvivier of Levallois-Peret and has been meticulously restored (in 2004). It has covered nearly 2,000 miles since – meaning it’s ready for you to enjoy on the open road. It should cost its new owner between $310,000-$390,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonhams’ Beaulieu sale lineup.
Update: Sold $334,825.
Photo – Bonhams
Voisin automobiles are fascinating. Gabriel Voisin is widely recognized as an engineering genius and his cars reflect that. Many of them feature Knight sleeve-valve engines, unique (and sometimes outrageous) coachwork and Jazz Age interiors.
The C12 was built between 1926 and 1933 and uses a 4.5-liter straight-six. Only 60 C12s were built and only three are known to survive. This is the only one that has a body on it (the other two are bare chassis). The body is by R. Duvivier of Levallois-Peret and has been meticulously restored (in 2004). It has covered nearly 2,000 miles since – meaning it’s ready for you to enjoy on the open road. It should cost its new owner between $310,000-$390,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonhams’ Beaulieu sale lineup.
Update: Sold $334,825.
Photo – RM Auctions
Voisins are highly desirable cars because they’re just so unique. Gabriel Voisin was an aviation engineer but he was also a former student at the Fine Arts School of Lyon. So the combination of art and engineering really came together with his cars.
This C3 is a long chassis model powered by a 4.0-liter sleeve-valve straight-four making 80 horsepower. The body is by Rothschild and features a convertible passenger section behind the open driver’s compartment.
Delivered new to an American architect living in Paris, the car is being offered from the collection of John Moir, who had the car restored. Look for it to sell for between $200,000-$285,000. Click here for more info and here for more from RM in Paris.
Update: Sold $243,656.
Photo – Gooding & Company
Make sure to head over to Gooding & Co.’s site and check out the interior on this car. Like many other Voisin automobiles, it’s wild. If you take a quick glance at this car, it looks like an old, boring, upright sedan. But then you look closer and start to notice all the quirky little details: the weird positioning of the doors, the fender-to-radiator connectors, the strange proportions. And that’s just the exterior.
Under the hood is a 2.3-liter straight-six sleeve-valve engine making 66 horsepower. This certainly isn’t the most intensely Art Deco Voisin ever built but it’s still super rare. This car was discovered in the 1990s in France and the restoration was finished before 2007.
Like most Voisin’s, the body is lightweight aluminium. Only 1,795 C14s were built between 1927 and 1932 – making it one of the company’s most popular models. This one should sell for between $250,000-$300,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding & Company in Amelia Island.
Update: Not sold.
Voisins are some of the most stylish and advanced cars from the coachbuilt era (except that Voisins weren’t coachbuilt – they didn’t need to be). They’re an easy ticket to car show super-stardom, too. Judges (and everyone else in attendance) go crazy over their outlandish features and unconventional design. And rightfully so.
I’m not getting into an argument with myself or anyone else about my decision to refer to this as a “Voisin” and not an “Avions Voisin” as the catalog does. G.M. Georgano refers to it as simply “Voisin” and if you don’t know who that is, then you aren’t in a position to argue against my decision. Anyway, Gabriel Voisin was a French aircraft pioneer who turned to motorcars in 1919.
He valued lightness in his cars and worked with a lot of aluminium and alloys (all that aircraft knowledge came in handy). The cars weren’t supposed to be beautiful – but “rational” – that is, functional and efficient. The lines are angular and supposed to serve a purpose. He wanted to build the world’s most perfect automobile. The engines were also efficient – this car uses a 3.0-liter Knight Sleeve-Valve straight-six making 90 horsepower. And it’s a big car, so speed obviously wasn’t a priority.
The Aérodyne was introduced at the Paris Auto Salon at the end of 1934. The car was marketed at the most well-heeled clients and was fabulously equipped. The interior is wrapped in a crazy Art Deco print design and the fastback roof is full of portholes for sunlight and the whole thing actually slides back like the world’s first giant sunroof.
This car was owned by the same man from 1963 until his death in 2008, when the car was sold and restored by its new owner. He, the current owner, only displayed the car once – meaning it is ripe for 2014 Concours season. Only 28 Voisin C25s were built and only eight had Aérodyne coachwork. Only four of those are believe to survive today and you can buy one (and you might as well) as it is expected to bring between $2,000,000-$3,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding & Co. in Monterey.
Update: Sold $1,925,000
S/N: 50023