1935 Avions Voisin C28 Aérosport
One of just two prototypes ever built, this 1935 Avions Voisin C28 Aerosport is a gem of automotive design. Its streamlined form is considered Gabriel Voisin’s masterpiece, with fenders that run the full length of the car, a curving roof that slides back for a convertible-like feel, and partial rear wheel covers. The car was outfitted with a 3.3L six-cylinder engine, paired with a Cotal four-speed transmission and Lockheed hydraulic brakes, resulting in what many refer to as the first GT.
To sell a luxury car the first visual impression is of the exterior. The aesthetics of the car need to capture the imagination of the potential buyer. It has to be something that pretty much takes ones breath away. That first impression must then be reinforced with an interior that one feels that one belongs in. Then when the car’s engine is started even before the buyer experiences it on the road the effect needs to be one of silent controllable power. It needs to feel like the test drive equivalent of a visit to Tiffany’s.
Voisin’s cars soon gained a reputation for being technically advanced, with sleeve-valve engines that ran notably quietly and smoothly. But they were only modestly commercially successful. The C28 was really the company’s last hurrah. With a 3.3-liter, six-cylinder engine making 102 horsepower, a Cotal pre-selector gearbox, and Lockheed hydraulic brakes, it was one of the fastest cross-country cars of the day. And hugely luxurious with it. But Avions Voisin was struggling in the wake of the Great Depression and folded in 1939, four years after the C28 was launched.
This car featured a full width body in which the fenders form a cohesive whole with the body instead of being attached to the chassis like appendages either side of the engine compartment as had previously tended to be the style. The C28 Aérosport is the most aerodynamic of Gabriel Voisin’s designs and is also one of the most outstanding examples of “Art Deco” automotive design ever seen.
A crazy Art Deco machine by the greatest carmaker you’ve never heard of.
