A new book has been introduced celebrating the life of designer, inventor and visionary Gabriel Voisin. VOISIN: La Différence is a modern retrospective on Gabriel Voisin and his avant garde designs and pioneering inventions, documenting his life with stories and photography of many of his most important innovations.
For those that know Citroën history, André Lefèbvre, the principle engineer of the Traction Avant, began his career as an aviation engineer working for Gabriel Voisin. He was also a racing driver and race car designer, and won the 1927 Rallye Monte Carlo. He joined the Renault in 1931 but with a tenuous term working under Louis Renault was hired in 1933 by André Citroën for the hurried development of the Traction Avant. After the death of Andre Citroën in 1935, he continued his work at Citroën on the 2CV, DS and HY Van.
Citroën owes much of it’s engineering innovation to the time that André Lefèbvre spent at Voisin.
Created in partnership with the Mullin Automotive Museum, VOISIN: La Différence was authored by the world’s leading Voisin experts and historians, Philipp Moch, Pierre Vanier, Reg Winstone and Philippe Ladure. The book chronicles the compelling stories of Gabriel Voisin and his ingenious creations in bi-lingual text (English and French), and features a wealth of previously unpublished modern and historic photography. The book showcases nine of Voisin’s most iconic automotive designs, including the incomparable 1935 Avions-Voisin C25 Aérodyne, and celebrates Voisin’s remarkable contribution to the defining technologies of his century.
“Gabriel Voisin was truly man unlike any other of his time. He was an artist, an inventor, a designer whose curiosity and talents can only compare to likes of Leonard da Vinci,” said Peter Mullin, Chairman and Co-Founder of the Mullin Automotive Museum. “We’re proud to be a part of this magnificent effort to honor a man who made such a profound impact on the world, yet is rarely celebrated.”
Gabriel-Voisin-with-brother-Charles-Voisin-circa-1907
One of the most significant designers of the early 20th Century, Voisin’s achievements in automobiles, aviation and architecture represent the pinnacle of style and innovation of the Art Deco era. Voisin’s revolutionary designs include the first aircraft to take off under its own power and sustain flight (1907), the C6 Laboratoire race cars that triumphed over Bugatti (1922) and some of the world’s first modern prefabricated homes (1920).
VOISIN: La Différence is available exclusively from the Mullin Automotive Museum for $125.00 US. For more information on the book, or to purchase a copy, visit MullinAutomotiveMuseum.com.
