1938 Avions Voisin C28 Saliot Cabriolet
Avions Voisin was a French luxury automobile brand established by Gabriel Voisin in 1919 which traded until 1939.
In a rather cruel twist of fate, Gabriel Voisin reached an artistic peak when right when his company was under receivership. Perhaps having the bankruptcy hanging over him like the Sword of Damocles brought out the best in him. In those final years, Voisin managed to combine the aerodynamic shape of his first cars with the Art Deco designs that dominated his late 1920s work. Amazingly at this time he had little resources left other than his own talent. It proved sufficient to produce some of motoring’s finest designs.
Gabriel Voisin’s cars made extensive use of aircraft technology and materials, especially aluminum, and as the Roaring Twenties gave way to the thirties his cars became increasingly aircraft like in style. His C28 is one of the best examples of the refinements Voisin was making in the late thirties even as the world observed the rise of a militarized Nazi Germany and began to realize that Europe could well be heading into another world war.
Voisin used a Knight principle sleeve valve 3.3liter in-line six cylinder engine mated to a Cotal four speed epicyclic pre-selector gearbox with overdrive. Pre-selector gearboxes such as the Cotal and the Wilson were the transmissions of choice for sporting and luxury cars as they obviated the need for a double de-clutch gearchange. All that was needed to change gear was to move the pre-selector switch to the intended next gear position, and then depress and release the clutch when the gear change was needed. If you have ever driven an old style London double decker bus or ridden behind the driver you will have experienced or seen a similar gearbox in operation.
Saliot was one of the foremost Voisin service and maintenance depots, and occasionally “produced” a “Saliot Special” body on the chassis, with rather flamboyant coachwork, the actual building of which was always contracted to another shop; Saliot itself had no coachbuilding facilities.
The direction of the Voisin Company would change in 1937, as Gabriel Voisin lost control of his company. The C28 was the final car to be designed by Voisin and utilize many of the techniques and design principals that made them unique. At most, only four C28 models were created. Under the hood was the tried-and-true six-cylinder sleeve-valve engine and guided by a four-speed Cotal Preselector gearbox.
It was the end of an era and World War II was on the horizon. The Great Depression had taken its toll on the great Voisin Company and a new plan of survival was in the works. The ingenuity and designs of the Voisin marque have left their mark on the automotive industry and the company will always be remembered as one of the great luxury car producers of the pre-World War II era. It is estimated that around 11,000 examples were constructed during this time frame. With so many exotic and lightweight materials used that were susceptible to the elements, only few have survived.
