The heir to the throne in a hurry
01/12/2025
After the Second World War, Victor Derbuel had to bake smaller rolls. Instead of impressive racing cars from BMW and Auto Union, his compressors were only allowed to breathe life into well-behaved French limousines in the 1950s. Or rather: his supercharger, singular. Because Monsieur Derbuel was only able to install a compressor of his own manufacture on his private Renault Dauphine.
The VD compressor - which did not force a combustible mixture into the combustion chamber, but fresh air into the carburetor - helped the 0.85-liter four-cylinder engine to develop an undreamt-of temperament. The acceleration time of the otherwise standard car was almost halved: instead of 37 seconds after the full throttle start, the driver only had to be patient for 19 seconds until 100 km/h was finally reached.
Unfortunately, Derbuel was unable to find a licensee for series production. However, performance-hungry Renault drivers did not have to despair. From 1958, US manufacturer Judson also offered a conversion kit for the Dauphine - which was then installed behind the carburettor in the classic manner.
