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Rare 1924 French car to be sold at auction, estimated price €60-80,000
The Avions Voisin C4S has a unique chassis and is said to be in superb condition
A rare Avions Voisin C4S car made in 1924 is to be sold at an auction near Toulouse tomorrow (May 7) with an estimated value of between €60,000 to €80,000.
This particular model (see above picture) was the last ever C4S made, with its chassis being constructed in Castres (Occitanie), once renowned for its luxury coachbuilding industry.
The Voisin C4S has a 1328cc engine, giving it around 33 brake horsepower. It is described as being in “superb condition”.
A distinguished history
Gabriel Voisin, founder of Avions Voisins, was a French aviation pioneer and created Europe’s first manned, engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft capable of sustained flight.
After World War One, he turned his attention to automobiles, producing his first car, the C1, in 1919.
The C4 range came out in 1921, with 900 models produced. In 1923 the company began producing the slightly more powerful C4S model.
The car being sold this weekend was initially intended to be for a friend of Mr Voisin, Louis Blériot, who in 1909 became the first pilot to fly across the English Channel, winning a prize of £1,000 offered by the Daily Mail.
But in the end it was acquired by a rich textile industrialist, Henri Fabre de Massaguel.
It was he who took the car to Castres to have its unique chassis constructed.
The car remained in the de Massaguel family for 50 years before being bought by a classic car enthusiast from Gers. It is now up for sale at auction following the latter’s death.
The car is currently on display at the château de Lasserre de Montastruc-La-Conseillère
(Haute-Garonne), where the auction will be held.
The auction house Stanislas Machoïr is handling the sale. Interested parties can bid in person, online or by phone.
For more information, see the Stanislas Machoir website here.
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