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Technology in race cars (1923/2): Voisin C6 Laboratoire - The Dragonfly

Name: Voisin C6 Laboratoire 1923
Brand: Voisin

Created on March 27, 2024

Text:

Gerhard Schütz

Photos:

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

Antoine Dellenbach

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

Antoine Dellenbach

Voisin C6 Laboratoire (1923) - during a demonstration ride in Montlhéry

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Voisin C6 Laboratoire (1923) - reconstruction from the nineties

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Voisin C6 Laboratoire (1923) - richly equipped cockpit with modern flat-bottomed steering wheel, including gearshift and brake force adjustment

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Voisin C6 Laboratoire (1923) - in front of a Bugatti Type 32 at the anniversary drive in Tours in 1993

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Voisin C6 Laboratoire (1923) - in the Membrolle curve of Tours at the 1923 French Grand Prix

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Voisin C6 Laboratoire (1923) - at the technical scrutineering before the 1923 French Grand Prix

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Voisin C6 Laboratoire (1923) - spectacular front with propeller to drive the water pump

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Voisin C6 Laboratoire (1923) - drop-shaped flowing tail

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Voisin C6 Laboratoire (1923) - self-supporting aluminum body on a wooden frame

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Voisin C6 Laboratoire (1923) - wedge-shaped bow with free-standing wheels

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Voisin C6 Laboratoire (1923) - Gas is on the right: pedals in a modern arrangement

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Voisin C6 Laboratoire (1923) - next to a Bugatti Type 32 with four covered wheels instead of just two

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Voisin C6 Laboratoire (1923) - Le Grandes Heures Automobiles Montlhéry 2016

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Voisin C6 Laboratoire (1923) – reich bestücktes Cockpit mit modern-abgeflachtem Lenkrad, darunter Schaltung und Bremskraftverstellung

Voisin C6 Laboratoire (1923) – vor einem Bugatti Typ 32 bei der Jubiläumsfahrt in Tours 1993

Voisin C6 Laboratoire (1923) – in der Membrolle-Kurve von Tours beim Grossen Preis von Frankreich 1923

Voisin C6 Laboratoire (1923) – bei der technischen Abnahme vor dem Grossen Preis von Frankreich 1923

Voisin C6 Laboratoire (1923) – spektakuläre Front mit Propeller für den Antrieb der Wasserpumpe

Voisin C6 Laboratoire (1923) – tropfenförmig-fliessendes Heck

Summary

Self-supporting bodywork, four-wheel brakes, brake booster, covered underbody and rear diffuser - over 100 years ago, a racing car already combined all of these pioneering features in its design. The fact that the almost frighteningly advanced Voisin C6 Laboratoire was nevertheless unsuccessful was due to the engine, of all things. The second part of the trilogy "Technology in the 1923 racing car" presents the aluminum dragonfly.

This article contains the following chapters

The 1923 French Grand Prix in Tours

Estimated reading time: 5min

Preview (beginning of the article)

"With the Voisin C6 and the Bugatti 32, a new era of automobile development began in which higher speeds were achieved less through the power of the engine than through the improvement of the shapes." N. Galliot in "Très Sport", August 1923 "The dragonfly" - that's what the irritated racing public called the new Voisin C6 Laboratoire on its first appearance at the 1923 French Grand Prix in Tours. It is one of the most fascinating and bizarre racing cars ever built. To describe it in a few words in such a way that a clear picture immediately emerges in the reader's mind would be akin to trying to explain a spiral staircase with your hands tied behind your back.

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