The probably unique survivor of a singular French electric car from 1941, the Pierre Faure, was recently auctioned off at the Paris Salon Retromobile. The vehicle, which is in pretty bad shape - but seems to be is complete -, reached an unexpected price, the hammer fell when offered € 49,880 for this vehicle. A big surprise not only for all enthusiasts of electromobility and its long history, but also for all collectors of old vehicles.
Behind this unique acquisition is a Russian collector, who already had a strong commitment by some of the cars from the famous American microcar collection of Bruce Weiner, offering prices out of their way to stay with an important set of these complete collection.
It is clear that Russia currently has a great potential in buying anything of value in Western countries, we hope that their will not buy any jewelry we may have. Already more than one Russian billionaire has run with some Western renowned automakers, as TVR could be, but without being able to continue production of their cars.
The two-seater electric Pierre Faure was well known in those years during World War II, when everything was scarce, not only for its attractive streamlined body, but mainly because Pierre Faure, its inventor and builder, knew to use the press for advertising. There are more press clippings and photos of this vehicle than from others of this kind, although many units do not appear to have been built.
The monocoque body looks like a silhouette of an airplane. In fact the front axle is much wider than the rear, like the future Italian Isetta. Pathway only saves an 48 cm at the rear differential. The six lead-acid batteries were located in the front, directly in front of the driver, giving a rather exaggerated weight on the front axle. The vehicle is only 3.10 meters long and circulated to a top speed of 40 km/h with a range of about 75 kilometers. Its total weight was about 550 kg, and its price was below 20,000 FF. The motor power was directly transmitted to the front wheels having only two different intensities, one for low, the other for fast run.
Photo courtesy Classic Lane
