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57-416: Before the end of World War II, French automaker Panhard et Levassor foresaw that post-war demand for their typically large and expensive cars would be limited and that a smaller less expensive model would be needed. Designer Louis Bionier began development of a small two-box "voiture populaire" (people's car) that would be powered by engineer Louis Delagarde 's new air-cooled two-cylinder boxer engine driving

114-514: A limited company which focused on producing spun woollen products. By 1940, at the time of the German invasion of France, 34-year-old Fritz was the chairman of a spinning mill in Malmerspach . After World War II , the two brothers devoted their time to obsessively growing their business, and became wealthy. Fritz loved cars, driven by an abiding love for beautiful automotive engineering. Having wanted

171-452: A 40 hp (29.8 kW) cooking engine, or the 50 hp (37.3 kW) Tigre version. Both engines displaced the same 848 cc. Apart from some mechanical upgrades, the PL 17 received one minor styling upgrade in the early 1960s that raised and extended the trailing edge of the roofline, added modern headlamps, and relocated the spare wheel to under the bonnet, enlarging the available space in

228-425: A Bugatti since childhood, he bought a Bugatti Type 35B just before the German invasion of France. After the war he began racing classic cars, but was requested by the textile union to "abstain from this competition which could endanger your life and deprive us of our esteemed director." Schlumpf had been generous to his workers, providing employee trips, installing an employee theater and driving expectant mothers to

285-586: A favored few. In light of the unrelenting global shift of textile manufacturing to Asia, by 1976 the Schlumpf brothers began selling their factories. In October the Malmerspach plant laid off employees, and a strike broke out, with 400 police holding back the workers from ransacking the Mulhouse plant. After a stand-off, on March 7, 1977, textile-union activists staged a sit-in strike at Schlumpf offices, and broke into

342-554: A form letter to all Bugatti owners on the club register, offering to buy all of their cars. In 1962 he bought nearly 50 Bugattis. In the spring of 1963, he acquired 18 of Ettore Bugatti's personal cars, including the Bugatti Royale Coupé Napoléon. In 1963 collector John Shakespeare of Centralia, Illinois , (oil developer, and heir to the Shakespeare fishing reel fortune), offered his collection of 30 Bugattis (then

399-533: A full-sized vehicle. This car was the Panhard Dynavia. The Dynavia was built on the Dyna X chassis. Power came from Panhard's two-cylinder OHV GM600 boxer engine with a bore of 72 mm, a stroke of 75 mm and total displacement of 610 cc (37.2 cu in). The engine was front-mounted and drove the front wheels through a four-speed manual transaxle. Suspension was independent on all four corners. Steering

456-482: A small two-door front-wheel drive "voiture populaire" (people's car) that would be powered by a new air-cooled two-cylinder boxer engine designed by engineer Louis Delagarde . Automotive innovator Jean-Albert Grégoire was working on a similar project originally called the "Automobile Légère Grégoire" (ALG), later renamed "Aluminium Français Grégoire" (AFG) when the French national aluminum consortium stepped in to sponsor

513-499: A third Dynavia were produced but this car was never assembled. The favorable impression made by the Dynavia and the benefits of its aerodynamic shape encouraged Paul Panhard to give Bionier approval to design an aerodynamic body for the upcoming Panhard Dyna Z . Louis Bionier Louis Bionier (1898–1973) was a French automotive engineer. He is best known as head of chassis development and chief stylist for carbuilder Panhard . He

570-464: A wing of the former 200,000 sq ft (19,000 m ) Mulhouse spinning mill was chosen to quietly restore and house the collection. A team of up to 40 carpenters, saddlers, and master mechanics was assembled to carry out the restoration work, who under a confidentiality agreement kept their work and the scale of the collection a secret - a singlemindedness often referred to as "The Schlumpf Obsession." Many, including members of Bugatti clubs around

627-473: Is a large shrine to her at the entrance to the museum. The collection includes over 520 vehicles, with 400 displayed in three main sections in chronological order: The museum houses three Type 41 "Royale"s : two of the original six Royales plus a replica of the Esder Royale created at the Schlumpf brothers' workshops from genuine Bugatti spare parts. Few of the cars on display are in running order, although

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684-544: The 2CV , Pierre Bercot decided that the challenge could be answered by a car with an updated appearance that used the 2CV's mechanical components, replicated the features of the 4L, and could be slotted into Citroën's lineup above the 2CV but below the upcoming Ami 6 . He assigned the project to Bionier. Working with Ducassou-Péhau, a series of sketches were produced for the car. These were considered too radical, and Bercot asked for revisions that were done by Jacques Charreton. The revised Bonier/Ducassou-Péhau/Charreton design

741-477: The 6CS and 8DS appeared. Two years after that both cars received minor updates. In 1934 came another revision to the bodywork. For this model, called the Panoramique , Bionier introduced a feature that took advantage of the driver's binocular vision to improve outward visibility. Leaving the main windscreen glass as a single flat plate, Bionier replaced the single A-pillar on each side with dual pillars and filled

798-500: The Panhard Dyna X . Grégoire later sued Panhard for unpaid royalties. Bionier remained fascinated by the shapes and movements of birds and fish. Like some of his contemporaries he had come to appreciate some aerodynamic principles, such as the importance of reducing frontal area and of maintaining smooth, turbulence-free air flow along the length of a car's body. In 1945 he made wooden 1:5 scale models of an experimental car he called

855-495: The 1948 Paris Salon de l'Automobile, and convinced Panhard to allow Bionier to design an aerodynamic body for the successor to the Dyna X. The replacement for the Dyna X took under 30 months to ready for production. Bionier, working with André Jouan, produced a very smooth ponton body style that would be executed in aluminium panels produced by Aluminium Français. This six-seat berline was still powered by Delagarde's flat twin, recently enlarged to 848 cc. Rather than wait for

912-528: The AFG into production. When the Pons Plan to rationalize the French automotive industry went into effect, Panhard found itself excluded from the list of approved automakers and denied permission to resume building cars and access to the needed materials. In the early post-war period steel was rationed but aluminum, whose production had been increased during the war, was not. To obtain permission to build small cars under

969-585: The French Riviera. Bionier retired from Panhard in 1967. He died in 1973. Bionier was first hired by Panhard et Levassor in 1915, but as an apprentice tool fitter. He soon came to the attention of management, and members of the Panhard family began to mentor him. Bionier worked in the factory during the day, gaining experience in different departments, and attended Panhard's École Pratique internal training school at night. In 1924 Panhard et Levassor took over

1026-678: The French national automobile collection, the museum reopened in March 2000 as the largest automobile museum in the world. In 1981, Fritz Schlumpf filed a lawsuit from Switzerland claiming he was entitled to a portion of the proceeds of the sale to NAMAoM. He died in 1992, but in 1999 a French court found in his favor, and directed that the French Government pay the balance of a 40 million franc indemnity to Schlumpf's widow Madame Arlette Schlumpf-Naas in Switzerland. The court also instructed return of

1083-498: The Montlhéry race circuit. Sales started the next year. Models included the original 24C (Coupé) and 24B (Berline) with a wheelbase stretched by 25 cm (9.8 in). The base 24C, 24B and the reduced-content 24BA came with a 42 hp (31.3 kW) engine, while the 24CT and 24BT received the 50 hp (37.3 kW) Tigre engine. Production of the PL 24 only lasted until 1967. When Renault's new 4L began to eat into sales of

1140-508: The Mulhouse "factory" to find the astounding collection of cars. An unrestored Austin 7 was burned and the workers' union representative remarked "There are 600 more where this one came from." The Schlumpfs fled to their native Switzerland , and spent the rest of their days as permanent residents of the Drei Koenige Hotel in Basel . But with wages and tax evasion accusations outstanding,

1197-464: The PL 17, which was a restyling of the previous model rather than a completely new car. Bionier revised the front and rear of the car, leaving the chassis and central cabin from the Dyna Z unaltered. While the front doors on early PL 17s were hinged on the trailing edge, in July 1960 this was changed, and the doors' hinges were moved to the leading edge. The PL 17 buyer also had the choice of two engine options;

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1254-693: The Paris Motor Show in October Panhard opted to unveil the car on 17 June 1953 at the Les Ambassadeurs restaurant in the Hôtel Crillon on the Place de la Concorde, Paris. In 1957 some of the car's structure was switched to steel from Duralinox  [ ca ] , and later some of the aluminum body panels were also switched to steel. Production ran until 1959. On 29 June 1959 the Dyna Z was replaced by

1311-516: The Pons Plan, Panhard obtained non-exclusive rights to the aluminum-intensive AFG strongly supported by Pons. Bionier and Delagarde developed a car called the VP2 that substituted a chassis of two tall narrow steel box members and cross-bracing for the AFG's Alpax unitary unit at Bionier's insistence. The rear suspension was a triple-torsion bar system. Power came from Delagarde's air-cooled twin, and went to

1368-754: The Regional Board of the Alsace Region, the organizers of the Paris Auto Show and the Automobile Club de France. The NAMAoM placed daily management of the museum in the hands of an operating company, the National Automobile Museum of Mulhouse Management Association, which opened the museum to the public in 1982. However, lacking the enthusiasm of the Schlumpfs or the financial drive of the union,

1425-586: The VP6 and had them tested in the wind tunnel of the Institute Aérodynamique in Saint-Cyr. Later, to assess the air flow over full size bodies, he conceived of and manufactured sets of small, light, but precisely shaped vanes. These vanes included a ball joint that allowed them to pivot in the air flow, and were attached to the body of the car under test by means of a suction cup. These vanes allowed Bionier to film

1482-627: The age of 78, many of the cars were sold to the Peter W. Mullin collection, to be displayed at the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California (formerly housing the Chandler Vintage Museum of Transportation and Wildlife ). The museum is now listed as a National Heritage site by the French Government. The museum is still dedicated to the Schlumpf brothers' mother Jeanne Schlumpf; there

1539-475: The boot. Production of the PL 17 continued until 1965. Bionier's final design for Panhard was the PL 24. The chassis was a new steel perimeter frame with a welded floor and attachment points for the front subframe and rear suspension. Power once again came from Panhard's air-cooled flat twin, displacing 848 cc. Bionier and René Ducassou-Péhau drew a new 2+2 coupé body. The large and airy greenhouse, prominent raised bodyline highlighted by Inox trim circling

1596-448: The car at shoulder height, and scalloped panels below drew comparisons to the 1960 Chevrolet Corvair . The car's flat "flying" roof was carried on high-tensile strength steel pillars that extended down into the chassis for support. The sloping nose carried inset headlamps, prescient of Robert Opron 's later redesign of the DS's nose. The car was first presented to the public on 24 June 1963 at

1653-540: The collection from destruction, break-up or export, the contents were classified in 1978 as a French Historic Monument by Council of State. In 1979, a bankruptcy liquidator ordered the building closed. In 1981 the collection, buildings and residual land were sold to the National Automobile Museum Association (NAMAoM), a state sanctioned public/private conglomerate that includes: the City of Mulhouse,

1710-424: The collection gradually fell into decline. In 1999 NAMAoM contracted Culturespaces to take over and modernise the museum and its operations. Culturespaces renovated the museum, including creating large scale public spaces for other cultural events, while conserving the well-known main hall with its Pont Alexandre III lamp posts . Widening the relevance of the museum to a younger audience by being given control of

1767-562: The company. October 1929 marked the debut of the 6DS  [ de ] at the Salon de l'Automobile in Paris. This design by Bionier signaled a modernisation of Panhard's line. The "S" in the name stood for "Surbaissée", or "Lowered". The car's roofline was lowered, as was the chassis, with appropriate changes to the suspension. The 6DS' chassis was also narrowed, and featured a double-skinned floor that increased overall stiffness. One year later

Panhard Dynavia - Misplaced Pages Continue

1824-416: The early 1950s, developing a reputation in the trade for only buying the most desirable models. Assisted by Mr Raffaelli, a Renault dealer from Marseilles and the owner of several Bugattis, they built a Bugatti collection obsessively and quickly: While an enormous variety of marques is represented in the collection, it is now clear that the primary focus of the Schlumpf brothers was Bugatti . Fritz sent

1881-402: The effects of air flow over a body. The result of these experiments was the Dynavia. Parts sufficient for three cars were made, but only two were assembled. Of these, one was sold to a private buyer and was later so badly damaged in a road accident that it was scrapped. Built using the chassis, engine, and suspension of a Dyna X, this highly streamlined car was well received when it was shown at

1938-532: The factory of car maker Delaugère et Clayette in Orléans. This acquisition allowed Panhard to produce bodies for their own standard models in house, rather than rely on outside carrosserie to complete the cars. Special models were still bodied outside of the company. In 1929 Bionier was made the head of Panhard's Bureau d'Études et de Recherches Carrosserie (Office of Bodywork Studies and Research), or BERC , putting him in charge of all body and chassis development for

1995-408: The factory was occupied the next two years by the textile-union and renamed "Workers’ Factory." To recoup some lost wages, the union opened the museum to the public, with some 800,000 people viewing the collection in two years. As the scale of the brothers Schlumpf debt rose, various creditors, including the French government and unions, eyed the car collection toward recovering their losses. To save

2052-414: The front wheels through a transaxle also created by Delagarde. The VP2 was a 4-door 4-seat car. Its bodywork, still of aluminum, was similar in style to that of the AFG, although neither Grégoire nor Bionier were entirely satisfied with the result. Panhard may have been pressured to make the VP2 look like the AFG but they never acknowledged any connection between the two cars. The VP2 went into production as

2109-459: The front wheels. At the same time, automotive designer Jean-Albert Grégoire was working on a car originally called the "Automobile Légère Grégoire" (ALG) later renamed "Aluminium Français Grégoire" (AFG) when the French national aluminum consortium stepped in to sponsor the project. The resulting prototype was also a small front-wheel drive car powered by an air-cooled two-cylinder boxer engine. The AFG weighed only 400 kg (881.8 lb) due to

2166-461: The gap between them with curved glass panels made by Saint Gobain. A driver looking askance past the pillars would not perceive the pillars at all, having an apparently unobstructed 180° view ahead. In May 1936 Panhard introduced the Panhard Dynamic . For this car Bionier produced a curvaceous side-skirted Streamline Moderne shape that expressed his early interest in aerodynamics, and retained

2223-444: The hospital in his own car. This was in great contrast to brother Hans, a former banker, who paid the mill workers poorly, docked fifteen minutes off their pay if they were late or signed out a minute or two early, and did not pay bonuses or increments. With postwar modern 1950s car designs coming on stream, people wanted to exchange their classic 1920s through 1930s cars in for new models. Fritz and Hans began collecting in earnest in

2280-520: The largest and most comprehensive collection of Bugatti motor vehicles in the world. Brothers Hans and Fritz Schlumpf were Swiss citizens born in Italy , but after their mother Jeanne was widowed, she moved the family to her home town of Mulhouse in Alsace , France. The two brothers, who were later described as having a "Schlumpf obsession", were devoted to their mother. In 1935 the Schlumpf brothers founded

2337-584: The largest collection in the US), and Fritz bought all of them. They were shipped from Hoffman, Illinois by the Southern Railroad to New Orleans , then by freighter to Le Havre , making headlines in the US. By 1967 an inventory showed 105 Bugattis in the brothers' Schlumpf collection. Over the years nearly 400 items (vehicles, chassis and engines) were acquired, and from 1964 as the woollen industry started to downturn,

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2394-538: The ownership of the 62 cars in the so-called "Malmerspach collection" (the reserve stock), including 17 Bugattis - 8 from the collection of John Shakespeare. Having moved the cars to a shed in Wettolsheim , Madame Schlumpf-Naas drew up a commercial agreement with businessmen Jaap Braam Ruben and Bruno Vendiesse, which meant that she sold the cars to them, but that they would remain in the storage shed until after her death. After Madame Schlumpf-Naas died on 16 May 2008 at

2451-434: The project. Grégoire's design was also for a small, 2-door, front-wheel drive car powered by an air-cooled two-cylinder boxer engine. The AFG weighed only 400 kg (881.8 lb) due to the use of Alpax  [ fr ] to produce a unitary-style chassis and the use of aluminum for the bodywork. Grégoire showed the car to several French car makers, with Simca showing the most interest, but none committed to putting

2508-525: The split A-pillars of the Panoramique. The headlamps were incorporated into the fenders rather than being mounted separately, and were capped by covers that echoed the shape of the main grille. The driver's position in the Dynamic's six seat body was originally in the centre of the three-place front bench, but this was later moved to the more typical left hand side. In the place of the earlier models' ladder frame

2565-496: The staff of car builder Panhard et Levassor as a stylist. In 1929 he became their chief stylist, a position he occupied until 1967, earning the sobriquet Dieu le père (god the father). In 1925 Bionier married Marie-Louise Audebert, who owned a photography studio. Bionier himself subsequently became interested in photography and amateur film making. He was also a keen observer of nature and in 1927 began to use his camera to record what he saw during trips to Switzerland, Italy, and

2622-536: The use of the aluminum alloy Alpax  [ fr ] to produce a unitary-style chassis and the use of aluminum for the bodywork. Grégoire showed the car to several French car makers including Simca but interest was absent. When the Pons Plan to rationalize the French automotive industry went into effect the company on the Avenue d'Ivry, now simply known as Panhard, was denied permission and access to materials needed to continue building cars. During this time, steel

2679-448: The war, Bionier had also pursued his interest in aerodynamics. He observed the shapes and movements of birds and fishes and built scale models of a streamlined 7-passenger car he named the VP6. In 1945, Bionier tested a 1/5 scale model in the wind tunnel at the Institute Aérodynamique in Saint-Cyr. Following the introduction of the Dyna X, Bionier returned to those early studies and built a concept car to explore how they might be applied to

2736-410: The world, knew of the collection. The scale of the enterprise surprised almost everybody. Fritz visited Mulhouse daily, choosing the colors and type of restoration each car would receive. The workers removed the mill's interior walls and laid a red tile walkway with gravel floors for the cars to rest upon. The brothers Schlumpf remained very secretive about their car collection, only rarely showing it to

2793-415: Was a 4-door 4-seat car. The bodywork was still of aluminum and reflected the styling of the AFG, although neither Grégoire nor Bionier were entirely satisfied with it. Panhard may have been pressured to make the VP2 look like the AFG but they never acknowledged any connection between the two cars. Grégoire eventually sued Panhard for unpaid royalties. The VP2 entered production as the Panhard Dyna X . During

2850-427: Was a new monocoque chassis . The suspension used torsion bar springs front and back, and the car came with a dual-circuit hydraulic braking system that operated on all four wheels. Before World War II had ended Jean Panhard foresaw that post-war demand for Panhard's typically large and expensive cars would be limited, and that a smaller less expensive model would be needed. Designer Louis Bionier began development of

2907-406: Was about 18 percent faster than the Dyna X with the same drive-train. The Dynavia's fuel consumption has been reported to vary from 3.5 L/100 km (80.7 mpg ‑imp ) to 5 L/100 km (56.5 mpg ‑imp ). The Dynavia was first shown at the 1948 Paris Auto Salon and was favorably received by both the public and the press. This car remained the property of Panhard and

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2964-661: Was accepted and went into production as the Citroën Dyane . Bionier retired in 1967, the same year that the Dyane, the last design he oversaw, went on sale. Cit%C3%A9 de l%27Automobile Musée National de l’Automobile , Collection Schlumpf is an automobile museum located in Mulhouse , France , and built around the Schlumpf Collection of classic automobiles. It has the largest displayed collection of automobiles and contains

3021-531: Was also involved in the design of some of Panhard's military vehicles. Bionier was born in the commune of Alfortville , France in 1898. His father, a bicycle builder, died when Bionier was nine years old. Two years after this, having obtained his Certificat d'études primaires, he left school and went to work to help support his mother. He is said to have apprenticed with Appareils d’Aviation Les Frères Voisin , an aircraft company established in 1906 by brothers Gabriel and Charles Voisin . In 1921 Bionier joined

3078-607: Was by rack-and-pinion. Brakes were drums front and rear. The 2-door bodywork was executed in Duralinox  [ ca ] , an aluminum/magnesium alloy. The Dynavia's shape resulted in a drag coefficient ( C d {\displaystyle \scriptstyle C_{\mathrm {d} }\,} ) of just 0.26. The car was designed to seat four people although the narrow body and curving roof-line limited passenger space. The tall greenhouse with its two-piece windscreen and backlite offered good outward visibility. A single floodlight

3135-496: Was eventually permanently loaned to the Cité de l'Automobile museum in Mulhouse . It was also displayed at the 2005 Rétromobile show in Paris, France during the week of February 11 to February 20, 2005 A second car was built which was sent to a Panhard dealer in Grenoble. This car was sold to a private owner in Switzerland but was later involved in a crash and was scrapped. Parts to build

3192-429: Was mounted in the centre of the nose of the car, while the headlamps were Cibié "zero dazzle" units housed in tubes in the fenders and projecting flat beams out through slots on either side of the nose. At 650 kg (1,433.0 lb) the Dynavia was heavier than the equivalent Dyna X. Its engine produced 28 hp (20.9 kW) @ 4000 rpm which enabled the car to reach a top speed of 131 km/h (81.4 mph). This

3249-428: Was rationed but aluminum, whose production had been increased during the war, was not. To obtain permission to build small cars under the Pons Plan, Panhard obtained non-exclusive rights to the aluminum-intensive AFG strongly supported by Pons. Bionier and Delagarde developed a new car called the VP2 that substituted a chassis of two tall narrow steel box members and cross-bracing for the AFG's Alpax unitary unit. The VP2

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