1939 Voisin C30
Aviation pioneer Gabriel Voisin’s company became a major aircraft producer during WWI before transitioning to luxury automobiles around 1919.
Following financial restructuring under new administrators Gnome & Rhône in the late 1930s, the C30 and its evolved C30S variant emerged as the last Voisin production automobiles, shown at the Paris Salon in 1937 and again on the reborn Avions Voisin stand in 1938.
The C30 featured aerodynamic, largely aluminum coachwork that reflected Voisin’s aviation background, with an emphasis on relatively lightweight construction and chassis design aimed at good stability rather than an especially low center of gravity by contemporary standards.
Only a handful of cars received special coupe and cabriolet bodies, including a Dubos-bodied cabriolet and a factory C30S coupe displayed together at the 1938 Paris Salon, while the small production run as a whole was split among sedan, coupe, and cabriolet configurations instead of being predominantly sedans.
Power came from a supercharged 3.56-liter L-head Graham-Paige six supplied by Continental’s European affiliate, producing about 116 hp at 4,000 rpm, paired with a three-speed manual transmission.
The C30S chassis used Voisin’s patented sliding suspension system with hydraulic shock absorbers at both ends, while the related Goëlette cabriolet employed more conventional live axles with semi-elliptic leaf springs and friction shocks, all with hydraulic brakes.
Period and modern references place top speed in the mid-80 mph range, with Voisin literature and later summaries typically quoting about 86 to 90 mph.
The outbreak of World War II in 1939 brought an abrupt end to Voisin car production, with approximately 30 C30/C30S chassis built between late 1937 and the start of the war.
These automobiles were effectively the last production cars to bear the Voisin name, and modern research indicates that about five examples of the C30 family are known to survive today.
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