Voisin C30: A new car for a new era

The only example built, this C30 Cabriolet was designed and bodied by the renowned coachbuilder Louis Dubos for the Avions Voisin display at the 1938 Paris Salon. The new Avions Voisin automobile company, which had at the time only recently been taken over by G. Garabédian, asked Gabriel Voisin to develop this show model to be presented, alongside a Voisin-bodied 30S Coupe, on the reborn firm’s stand. However, the great designer was otherwise engaged, so the project was handed over to Louis Dubos, who designed the car and then supervised its construction at his Carrosserie in Paris.

As is true of all C30 cars, a 3.5-liter supercharged 6-cylinder L-head engine with conventional poppet valves powered the Dubos Cabriolet—the sleeve-valve engine era had finally ended with the last cars engineered under Gabriel Voisin’s direct control. The C30 engine was taken directly from the U.S.-built Graham of the same vintage. A Continental Motors design, the powerplant was rated at 116bhp in the Graham application. It was backed by a conventional 3-speed manual transmission, with overdrive on the top gear.

The Dubos Cabriolet had an innovative soundproofing system, utilizing a flocking produced from tar-based products to reduce engine and road noise. Chassis features—including the two sturdy parallel beams—were identical to the C30 Sedan, except for the 4-door model’s longer wheelbase.

Of course, the two C30 show cars at the 1938 Paris Salon were presented in anticipation of a future that would not to be realized. The outbreak of World War II in late 1939 brought a sudden stop to C30 production—the very few were also the very last Voisin automobiles. The Avions Voisin factory, located on the immediate outskirts of Paris at Issy les Moulineaux, was requisitioned by the occupying power and converted into an airplane engine repair facility.

C30 60007

Out of the approximately thirty C30 chassis produced, there are only five known to still exist. This car carries unique Cabriolet coachwork by Dubos, built for display on the Voisin stand during the 1938 Paris Salon. Following the outbreak of World War II and the invasion of France, the sporty one-off Cabriolet was requisitioned by the Germans, who retained it for the duration of the Occupation.

Following the liberation of France by the Allies, the late Robert Cornière, a pioneering Voisin collector and specialist, recovered the C30 Dubos Cabriolet. The car remained unused in Cornière’s collection for several years. Eventually, it was sold to another collector, who had it restored, around 1990, in every last detail by D. Tessier at Tours, proprietor of a workshop well known for its Voisin restorations. The C30 Cabriolet car has been in the consignor’s collection since the late 1990s. He and his children used it in several car rallies in Europe and the U.S. and became especially fond of the spacious cabriolet as a consequence of those journeys.

The sweeping lines of the Dubos Cabriolet are set off by a radiator ensemble, which identifies the car instantly as a Voisin. The radiator is, of course, topped by the traditional and famous Cocotte (“chick”) radiator mascot designed by Gabriel Voisin himself. The interior is richly appointed, with sumptuous leather upholstery and the instrumentation is set into a wood panel in the best style of the era.

The Dubos styling made this cabriolet a standout expression of art moderne automotive design as a show car in 1938 and ensures it will remain a standout car in whichever collection or on whatever show field it may be found in the future.

Representing, with grace and beauty, a final attempt to revive an automotive venture that is among the most interesting and engaging in the entire history of the automobile, the Voisin Dubos cabriolet simply cannot be duplicated.

The unique Voisin C30 Cabriolet is offered with a French title.