The Dynavia is a
concept car
A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...
built by
Panhard
Panhard was a French motor vehicle manufacturer that began as one of the first makers of automobiles. It was a manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its final incarnation, now owned by Renault Trucks Defense, was formed ...
in 1948. It was built as an experiment in aerodynamics.
Post-war developments and conception
Before the end of World War II, French automaker Panhard et Levassor foresaw that post-war demand for their typically large and expensive cars would be limited and that a smaller less expensive model would be needed.
Designer
Louis Bionier began development of a small two-box "voiture populaire" (people's car) that would be powered by engineer
Louis Delagarde
Albert Marie Louis Delagarde (1898–1990) was an engineer and automotive designer known primarily for his work with French carmaker Panhard & Levassor.
Biography
Delagarde was born on September 5th 1898, in Vitry-le-François. His father, who ...
's new air-cooled two-cylinder boxer engine driving the front wheels.
At the same time, automotive designer
Jean-Albert Grégoire
Jean-Albert Grégoire (7 July 1899 in Paris – 19 August 1992) was one of the great pioneers of the front-wheel-drive car. He contributed to the development of front-wheel-drive vehicles in two ways. The first way was in developing and promoting ...
was working on a car originally called the "Automobile Légère Grégoire" (ALG) later renamed "Aluminium Français Grégoire" (AFG) when the French national aluminum consortium stepped in to sponsor the project.
The resulting prototype was also a small front-wheel drive car powered by an air-cooled two-cylinder boxer engine.
The AFG weighed only due to the use of to produce a
unitary-style chassis and the use of aluminum for the bodywork. Grégoire showed the car to several French car makers including
Simca
Simca (; Mechanical and Automotive Body Manufacturing Company) was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat S.p.A. and directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by Italian Henri Pigozzi. Simca was affiliated with Fiat and, after Simca bough ...
but interest was absent.
When the
Pons Plan to rationalize the French automotive industry went into effect the company on the Avenue d'Ivry, now simply known as Panhard, was denied permission and access to materials needed to continue building cars. During this time, steel was rationed but aluminum, whose production had been increased during the war, was not.
To obtain permission to build small cars under the Pons Plan, Panhard obtained non-exclusive rights to the aluminum-intensive AFG strongly supported by Pons.
Bionier and Delagarde developed a new car called the VP2 that substituted a chassis of two tall narrow steel box members and cross-bracing for the AFG's Alpax unitary unit.
The VP2 was a 4-door 4-seat car. The bodywork was still of aluminum and reflected the styling of the AFG, although neither Grégoire nor Bionier were entirely satisfied with it.
Panhard may have been pressured to make the VP2 look like the AFG but they never acknowledged any connection between the two cars.
Grégoire eventually sued Panhard for unpaid royalties.
The VP2 entered production as the
Panhard Dyna X
The Panhard Dyna X was a lightweight berline designed by the engineer Jean Albert Grégoire and first exhibited as the AFG ''(Aluminium Français Grégoire)'' Dyna at the Paris Motor Show in 1946.
Conception and development
Mindful of the preca ...
.
During the war, Bionier had also pursued his interest in aerodynamics. He observed the shapes and movements of birds and fishes and built scale models of a streamlined 7-passenger car he named the VP6.
In 1945, Bionier tested a 1/5 scale model in the wind tunnel at the Institute Aérodynamique in Saint-Cyr.
Following the introduction of the Dyna X, Bionier returned to those early studies and built a concept car to explore how they might be applied to a full-sized vehicle. This car was the Panhard Dynavia.
Features and performance
![1948 Panhard Dynavia Prototype (16537989231)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/1948_Panhard_Dynavia_Prototype_%2816537989231%29.jpg)
The Dynavia was built on the Dyna X chassis.
Power came from Panhard's two-cylinder OHV GM600 boxer engine with a bore of 72 mm, a stroke of 75 mm and total displacement of .
The engine was front-mounted and drove the front wheels through a four-speed manual transaxle. Suspension was independent on all four corners. Steering was by rack-and-pinion. Brakes were drums front and rear.
The 2-door bodywork was executed in , an aluminum/magnesium alloy. The Dynavia's shape resulted in a
drag coefficient
In fluid dynamics, the drag coefficient (commonly denoted as: c_\mathrm, c_x or c_) is a dimensionless quantity that is used to quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment, such as air or water. It is used in the drag equ ...
(
) of just 0.26.
The car was designed to seat four people although the narrow body and curving roof-line limited passenger space. The tall greenhouse with its two-piece windscreen and backlite offered good outward visibility.
A single floodlight was mounted in the centre of the nose of the car, while the headlamps were Cibié "zero dazzle" units housed in tubes in the fenders and projecting flat beams out through slots on either side of the nose.
At the Dynavia was heavier than the equivalent Dyna X.
Its engine produced @ 4000 rpm which enabled the car to reach a top speed of .
This was about 18 percent faster than the Dyna X with the same drive-train.
The Dynavia's fuel consumption has been reported to vary from to .
Debut and subsequent history
The Dynavia was first shown at the 1948 Paris Auto Salon and was favorably received by both the public and the press.
This car remained the property of Panhard and was eventually permanently loaned to the
Cité de l'Automobile
Musée National de l’Automobile, Collection Schlumpf is an automobile museum located in Mulhouse, France, and built around the Schlumpf Collection of classic automobiles. It has the largest displayed collection of automobiles and contains the lar ...
museum in
Mulhouse
Mulhouse (; Alsatian language, Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning ''Mill (grinding), mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department, in the Grand Est Regions of France, region, eastern France, close to the France–Switzerl ...
. It was also displayed at the 2005 Rétromobile show in Paris, France during the week of February 11 to February 20, 2005
A second car was built which was sent to a Panhard dealer in Grenoble.
This car was sold to a private owner in Switzerland but was later involved in a crash and was scrapped.
Parts to build a third Dynavia were produced but this car was never assembled.
The favorable impression made by the Dynavia and the benefits of its aerodynamic shape encouraged Paul Panhard to give Bionier approval to design an aerodynamic body for the upcoming
Panhard Dyna Z
The Panhard Dyna Z is a lightweight Mid-size car, motor car produced by Panhard of France from 1954 to 1959. It was first presented to the press at a Paris restaurant named Les Ambassadeurs on 17 June 1953 and entered production the following year. ...
.
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
* {{cite web, url=http://blog.jpblogauto.com/post/2016/03/31/Louis-Bionier-Designer, title=Louis Bionier Designer, work=blog.jpblogauto.com
Panhard vehicles
Front-wheel-drive vehicles
1940s cars
Cars powered by boxer engines
Cars introduced in 1948
Concept cars