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Georges Irat lightweight sports car - revolutionary 2/3-seater prototype

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Created on April 18, 2021

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Bonhams

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Bruno von Rotz

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Dirk de Jager - Courtesy Artcurial Motorcars

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Archiv

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Bonhams

25

Bruno von Rotz

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Dirk de Jager - Courtesy Artcurial Motorcars

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Archiv

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Georges Irat (1949) - 150 km/h top speed was promised at the time

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Georges Irat (1949) - now on the road with Simca chassis

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Georges Irat (1949) - aerodynamic design

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Georges Irat (1949) - on the road in a one-off

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Georges Irat (1949) - on the road, note the special windshield construction

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Georges Irat (1949) - as it was shown in Paris in 1949

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Georges Irat (1949) - teardrop shape

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Georges Irat (1949) - Pontoon body already in the forties

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Georges Irat (1949) - visually almost indistinguishable from the prototype exhibited in Paris

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Georges Irat (1949) - central spotlight

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Georges Irat (1949) - ready to set off

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Georges Irat (1949) - View of the interior - gear changes are now made at the center tunnel

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Georges Irat (1949) - inviting

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Georges Irat (1949) - the steering wheel corresponds to that of the prototype

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Georges Irat (1949) - extensive instrumentation that could be preserved

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Georges Irat (1949) - the speedometer reaches up to 160 km/h

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Georges Irat (1949) - Multifunction switch for indicators and lights on the right of the steering column

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Georges Irat (1949) - Light switch

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Georges Irat (1949) - the longitudinally mounted four-cylinder Simca was probably not quite what Georges Irat dreamed of

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Georges Irat (1949) - the Simca chassis badge

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Georges Irat (1949) - Georges Irat trademark on the bow

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Georges Irat (1949) - the bumper is missing

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Georges Irat (1949) - Spotlight by Marchal

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Georges Irat (1949) - historical photographs, presented on the hood

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Georges Irat (1949) - contemporary reporting

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Georges Irat (1946) - innovative sports car at the 1946 Paris Motor Show

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Georges Irat (1946) - Engine of the post-war vehicle

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Georges Irat (1947) - at the Paris Salon of 1947 with 2-liter boxer, 80 hp

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Georges Irat (1949) - aerodynamically shaped, but not successful

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Georges Irat (1949) - Silhouette

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Georges Irat (1949) - View of the interior

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Georges Irat 1100 Prototype (1946) - as lot 334 at the Artcurial auction on the occasion of the Rétromobile in Paris 2018

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Georges Irat Cabriolet Labourdette (1949) - highest bid EUR 48'000

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Summary

After the end of the Second World War, many modern passenger cars were built in France, although most of them only just reached prototype status. One of these was the aerodynamically designed Georges Irat with a magnesium chassis and boxer engine. The body survived and will go under the hammer in April 2021. This article summarizes what is known about the interesting prototypes of Georges Irat from 1946 to 1949 and shows prototypes in historical and current pictures, as well as in the sales literature.

This article contains the following chapters

Front-wheel drive pioneer
Pioneering chassis design
A larger version
Swan song in 1949
Left behind

Estimated reading time: 6min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The post-war period was an extremely creative period, especially in France. Engineers and designers were only able to think about automotive innovations to a limited extent during the war economy, so the creative power that came to fruition from 1946 onwards was all the greater. Visitors with an interest in automobiles were able to see this at the first Paris Motor Show in October 1946. There were powerful eight-cylinder engines, elegant special bodies, an economical three-wheeler called VEL 37 by Mathis, but also a new prototype by Georges Irat. Georges Irat was no stranger. Even before the war, he had repeatedly attracted attention with special creations, most recently with a front-wheel drive sports car that reached speeds of over 100 km/h.

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