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René Dreyfus - From racing stable to restaurant

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Created on January 1, 1985

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Rob de la Rive Box

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Rene Dreyfus with a four-wheel drive Bugatti at the 1983 Lausanne Grand Prix

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Summary

René Dreyfus was born in Paris on May 6, 1905, and his talent as a racing driver soon became apparent. At the age of six, he invited his sister, his brother Maurice, who was a year older, and a friend for a ride on his pedal car, which ended miserably in the Seine, but they survived and René continued to train. By the age of nine, he was already able to steer his father's Clément-Bayard flawlessly. As a schoolboy, he took part in bicycle races before switching to motorcycles at 18, the start of an impressive career ....

This article contains the following chapters

Taking his first car to his first race
Bugatti is angry with Dreyfus
At 48 for the last race

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Although Dreyfus has never raced since 1953, he has not lost touch with the car world. No, even today, at the age of 80, he still travels the world to attend veteran races, openings and other festivities. From Fifth Avenue, it is only a few steps along 49th Street to "Le Chanteclair", the most famous restaurant in New York among car enthusiasts. In 1952, Rene and Maurice Dreyfus opened this restaurant, which specializes in French cuisine - how could it be otherwise? The brothers had already run a restaurant in New Jersey in 1940, and five years later they opened "Le Gourmet" in New York itself. In between, Rene fought as a non-commissioned officer in the American army in North Africa and southern Italy. This was unusual, as he had served in the French army just a year earlier.

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