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While Voisin made many unique and interesting cars based on his vast aircraft knowledge, none are as breathtakingly distinct as this C27 Aerosport. With a clever mix of French curves and Voisin's art deco touches, it is one of the most deserving cars to be labeled as rolling sculpture.

The Aerosport's story began in summer of 1934 when Voisin built a car called the Aerodyne and displayed it that fall at the Paris Motor show. With it, he was trying to draw attention to his oddball styling and unique features such as a sliding sunroof. While the intention was to make two dozen Aerodynes, only a few examples were really completed, including our feature car.

After the Paris Motor Show, two roadsters were built on a shortened and underslung version of the Aerodyne chassis known as the C27. The second of these was chassis 52002, a streamlined and pontoon-fended masterpiece called the Aerosport.

Its body styling is the work of the car's first owner, Andre Christmas who worked in collaboration with Voisin. Their balanced design is as impressive in detail as from afar. They took the basic outline of the Aerodyne, lowered it, added a sizeable trunk space, pentagon side windows, piano-hinged doors and ribbed aluminum accents along the extremity. The highlight is a sliding roof which has its own engine that works off the main engine's vacuum. It operates with a switch on the dashboard and closes directly onto the top of the windshield.

Inside, the car features a striking geometric pattern and ample room for luggage. When the sliding roof is retracted, it offers tremendous exposure, especially compared to the conventional sunroofs of the era.

When completed, the Aerosport was displayed at the 1935 Geneva Motor show where its striking design was almost more interesting than the patented Knight sleeve valve engine under the hood. It replaced the standard poppet valves with moving sleeves that surrounded the piston to uncover intake and exhaust ports. This complex system worked without return springs, and enabled very high engine speeds with less stress than a conventional pushrod design. The resulting quieter ride offset the slight haze left by the exhaust as oil slipped between the sleeves.

After the show, the Aerosport was care taken by many fortunate individuals and it now remains largely as it did when it was first shown in 1935. Its most recent journey was a trip to the 2006 Pebble Beach Concours where it was lined up alongside other Voisins in their feature display. 52002 is currently part of a large collection of Voisins in France.

Sources and Further Reading

1.Courteault, Pascal et. al. Automobiles Voisin: 1919-1958, Pei Intl: August 1995.
2.Borgeson, Griffith . 'Gabriel Voisin, Archetype of Constructors' Automobile Quarterly V13 N4 : 1975.

Story by Richard Owen