Henri Chapron - France's last carrossier

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Henri Chapron - France's last carrossier

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Created on April 17, 2025

Text:

Martin Sigrist

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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Archiv Gerhard Schütz

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Artcurial

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Laurent Missbauer

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Bonhams

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Balz Schreier

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Tom Wood - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

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Neil Fraser - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

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Pawel Litwinski - Courtesy RM Auctions

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- Courtesy Artcurial Motorcars

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Bruno von Rotz

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Dirk de Jager - Courtesy Artcurial Motorcars

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Ford Motor Company

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Dominique Fontenat

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Antoine Dellenbach

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Archiv

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Citroën DS 19 Le Caddy (1961) - Henri Chapron at the 1960 Paris Motor Show next to his new convertible, with the "Concorde" coupé behind him

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Citroën DS 19 Le Caddy Chapron (1961) - at the start of the RAID Suisse-Paris 2015

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Delahaye 135 (1936) - Competition body Chapron - shown in Paris 1936

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Delahaye 135 (1947) - "Competition Cabriolet Chapron" - intended for competition use

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Delahaye 135M Cabriolet Chapron (1951) - under the hammer as lot 158 at the RM Auction in Monterey on August 15/16, 2014

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Delahaye 148 L Cabriolet Mylord Grand Luxe By Chapron (1939) - offered as lot 156 at the RM/Sotheby's auction in Paris on February 1, 2023

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Delahaye Type 235 (1954) - bodywork by Chapron

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Delahaye 235 Chapron (1954) - with Chapron body seen from the front - Geneva Motor Show 1954

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Hotchkiss-Grégoire Coach Grand Sport (1953) - Chapron Coupé

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Hotchkiss-Grégoire R (1953) - at the 1953 Paris Motor Show as the Chapron Cabriolet

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Hotchkiss-Grégoire Berline by Chapron (1954) - offered as lot 109 at the Artcurial Le Mans Classic auction on July 2, 2022

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Salmson 2300 S Chapron (1956) - Class "A2 - Années JukeBox 1945-1960" - Concours d'Elégance Suisse Coppet 2017

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Salmson 2300 S (1955) - Chapron coupé with higher roof and larger rear window

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Delahaye 135 (1938) - Chapron body, photographed in the seventies

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Citroën DS 19 (1956) - Opening of the Salon Paris with the DS - 80,000 orders recorded

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Citroën DS 19 Cabriolet Chapron (1959), later renamed "La Croisette" - the only French coachbuilder at the Salon - Geneva Motor Show 1959

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Citroën DS 19 Le Caddy (1962) - the even rarer Chapron version of the convertible at the 1962 Geneva Motor Show

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Citroën DS 19 Coupé 'Concorde' (1963) - Conversion of the DS sedan into a coupé, carried out by Chapron, the interior is lined in fine leather

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Citroën DS 21 Cabriolet (1966) - on the Citroën stand at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show

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Citroën DS 21 Décapotable (1966) - surrounded by tulips at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show

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Citroën DS Cabriolet (1962) - at the 1962 Geneva Motor Show

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Citroën DS 19 Palm Beach (1964) - Chapron stand with cabriolet and coupé based on the DS - Geneva Motor Show 1964

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Citroën DS 21 Cabriolet (1966) - as lot 075 at the Artcurial auction on the occasion of the Rétromobile in Paris 2018

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Citroën DS Cabriolet (1968) - from winter 1967, the Cabriolet was also available with swivel headlights

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Citroën DS Cabriolet (1968) - with the most streamlined front end

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Citroën DS Cabriolet (1968) - like the sedan, it featured bodywork touches

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Citroen DS 21 Décapotable (1960) - had to make do with two doors

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Citroën DS 19 Prestige (1960) - the first car telephone in France to reach a mobile phone network in the greater Paris area - after all!

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Citroën DS 19 Prestige (1959) - with windshield and telephone for communicating with the driver

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Citroën DS 19 Prestige (1967) - offered as lot 325 at the Bonhams Goodwood Revival auction on September 17, 2022

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Citroën SM Mylord (1973) - Convertible from the Ateliers Henri Chapron

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Citroën SM Mylord (1973) - design changes were necessary at the rear

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Citroën 15-Six H Présidentielle Chapron (1957) - parade car for President Charles de Gaulle

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Citroën 15-Six H Présidentielle Franay (1955) - State limousine designed by Philippe Charbonneaux at the 1955 Paris Motor Show

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Citroën DS Présidentielle (1968) - over six meters long one-off for the French President

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Citroën DS présidentielle (1968) - more space through length

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Opening ceremony of the Citroën exhibition at the Pantheon Basel - May 1972, President Pompidou receives Queen Elisabeth with the SM Présidentielle

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Packard Super Eight "Yacht" Chapron (1937) - offered as lot no. 33 at the Artcurial auction in Paris on February 7 and 8, 2025

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Mercedes-Benz 600 Sedan by Chapron (1966) - as lot 185 at the RM/Sotheby's auction "The Sáragga Collection" 2019

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Citroën DS 19 Majesty (1965) - Chantilly Arts & Elégance 2016

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Ford Model T (1924) - efficient production as the top priority

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Citroën CX 2400 Prestige Landaulet par Chapron (1981) - as lot 066 at the Artcurial auction on the occasion of the Rétromobile in Paris 2018

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Summary

Henri Chapron is usually associated with his Citroën DS convertibles and, to a lesser extent, with special models of the SM. However, the master craftsman, who died in 1978 at the age of 92, witnessed French automotive history from the early 20th century onwards during his long career and played a key role in shaping it from 1919 to the end of the 1960s.

This article contains the following chapters

Beginnings with saddlery
French Ford T
Massive as a program
Difficult restart
A state limousine
Cabriolet d'Usine
And another state limousine
A question of taste

Estimated reading time: 10min

Preview (beginning of the article)

What is remarkable about Henri Chapron as a person is the fact that - unlike most of his colleagues - he always managed to get the best out of difficult economic situations for his business and to adapt to constantly changing circumstances until his own strength waned. The master craftsman's creative period can be divided into three phases: The period of his rise, the heyday of coachbuilding and the era of the Citroën DS and SM until the end in 1985. But let's go in order. At the age of 14, Chapron had already completed an apprenticeship as a saddler, left his training company and set off on a bicycle tour through France. His stops were numerous and the years literally passed by. In the process, Chapron became acquainted with the diversity of French industrial and craft culture during the "Belle Epoque" - a time in which France, once a distinctly agricultural country, consolidated its position as one of the world's leading industrial nations.

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