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144 of 127 lots
Lot 144
1938 Avions Voisin Type C30 S Coupe
Estimate:
$50,000 - $75,000
Starting bid:
$25
Sold for
$140,000
Live Auction
Amelia Island Auctions 2024
Description
Without Reserve

Chassis: 60026

Salesroom Addendum
Please note that, according to noted marque authorities, this vehicle was designed by Gabriel Voisin and built under license after the closing of the Voisin factory and the departure of Gabriel Voisin. Additionally, though the vehicle has long been described as having been displayed at the 1938 Paris Motor Show, please note there is no documentary evidence of this on file.

Believed to be the Only C30 S Coupe Built
Displayed at the 1938 Paris Motor Show
Featuring All-Aluminum Coachwork
Equipped with a Graham-Paige Supercharged Engine
Restored in France in 1994

3,560 CC Inline 6-Cylinder Engine
Single Zenith Downdraft Carburetor
Graham-Paige Centrifugal Supercharger
110 BHP at 4,000 RPM
3-Speed Manual Gearbox
4-Wheel Hydraulic Drum Brakes
Sliding-Pillar Suspension with Hydraulic Shock Absorbers

Voisin displayed this Type C30 S in stylish coupe form for a final appearance at the Paris Motor Show in 1938. After years of administrative struggle, the Voisin factory soon shuttered with the looming prospect of war, and the company was unable to revive the marque in the postwar years.

Gabriel Voisin was an advocate of streamlined designs well before they were popular. His cars were based on theory and science that exalted simple shapes flowing with the wind rather than abruptly muscling through. Even the C30 – which in many ways was tainted by administrators who forced Voisin to make a car according to modern aesthetics rather than his own understanding of science – maintained these idealized, light, aerodynamic qualities.

In this final iteration of Voisin’s design, the chassis was shortened to 10.3' from the previous year’s C30 chassis to improve handling. Additionally, the Coupe was not equipped with the typical hood ornament or Voisin sleeve-valve engine; rather, it received a 3.5-litre Graham-Paige engine with a centrifugal supercharger.

Restored in 1994 in Tours, France, this Type C30 S was purchased by the Mullin Collection in 2008 and subsequently displayed in the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California, where it was featured in a special exhibit on the Voisin marque. For the French-car collector looking for Gabriel Voisin’s last grand design, the search ends here.