Carrosserie Vanvooren

Carrosserie Vanvooren
Company type	Private
Industry	Coachbuilding, luxury automobile bodies
Founded	1888
Founder	Achille Vanvooren
Defunct	1950
Headquarters	Courbevoie, France
Area served	France, Europe
Key people	Achille Vanvooren, Marius Joseph Daste, Romée de Prandières
Products	Luxury automobile bodies and coachwork

Carrosserie Vanvooren was a French coachbuilding firm located in Courbevoie, a suburb of Paris, that specialized in crafting luxury automobile bodies. During the 1930s, it maintained close associations with prestigious marques such as Hispano-Suiza, Bugatti, Rolls-Royce, and Bentley. In addition to its manufacturing facilities, Vanvooren operated a showroom at 33 Rue Marbeuf, situated within Paris’s upscale 8th arrondissement.

The company functioned from 1888 until 1950, reaching its zenith in both reputation and production throughout the 1920s and 1930s.

1888 to 1929

Achille Vanvooren (1857–1928) established the business in 1888, initially focusing on producing carriage and automobile bodies. Among its early notable creations were a 1911 Mercedes 38/70HP commissioned by Samuel Colt and 1912 bodies for Panhard & Levassor and Hotchkiss models. The volume of production grew steadily over time.

In 1921, Achille Vanvooren retired, entrusting management to Marius Joseph Daste, the company’s technical director. Two years later, in 1923, Vanvooren obtained licensing rights from Carrossier Weymann to employ lightweight timber-framed bodies covered with synthetic leather—an approach inspired by aviation construction techniques. This design was applied to chassis such as the Hispano-Suiza H6 and Bugatti T43 and Type 44 models.

By 1927, Vanvooren had begun supplying coachwork for Rolls-Royce’s "New Phantom" series, initiating a durable collaboration.

In 1929, Daste joined forces with Romée de Prandières to patent an innovative flexible body structure reinforced with metal and incorporating "Silentbloc" rubber anti-vibration mounts produced by nearby Repusseau et cie. This system connected steel ladder frames to wooden body frameworks, effectively eliminating rattling noises and minimizing damage caused by chassis flexing in luxury automobiles.

1930 to 1939

The body construction system developed by Daste was unveiled at the 1930 Paris Motor Show and rapidly gained adoption among over forty European coachbuilders through licensing agreements. At that year’s London Motor Show, Vanvooren’s British representative showcased three Delage chassis fitted with distinctive silver and black two-tone coachwork that garnered significant acclaim. In the United Kingdom, patent distribution was managed by "Silent Travel," with licenses acquired by leading automobile manufacturers.

Throughout the 1930s, Vanvooren dominated the luxury coachbuilding sector by combining superior craftsmanship with sophisticated yet refined styling.

Collaboration with Hispano-Suiza

Vanvooren's partnership with Hispano-Suiza—whose headquarters were near the Courbevoie factory—intensified during the 1930s. This relationship mirrored the contemporary association between Rolls-Royce and Park Ward. In 1932, Marius Daste departed Vanvooren to assume the role of production director at Hispano-Suiza. Subsequently, Vanvooren provided bodywork for more than one-third of Hispano-Suiza’s HS26, K6, and J12 models.

Collaboration with Bugatti

Romée de Prandières, formerly allied with Daste, expanded Vanvooren’s connections with Bugatti throughout the 1930s, aided by his friendship with Dominique Lamberjack, director of Bugatti’s Paris agency. The company crafted bodies for numerous Bugatti types including the Type 43, Type 44, Type 46, Type 49, Type 50, Type 55, and Type 57. Notably, Vanvooren designed the striking coachwork that debuted on the Type 46 at the 1929 Paris Motor Show and also supplied bodies for Type 50 vehicles competing in the 1931 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Approximately twenty Bugatti Type 57 cars were fitted with Vanvooren bodies, among them four cabriolet Type 57S variants. In 1939, Vanvooren created a unique body for a Type 57 commissioned by the French government as a nuptial gift for Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, future Shah of Iran. This extravagant design was originally conceived by Figoni & Falaschi for a Delahaye chassis and stood apart from Vanvooren’s typically more understated style during that era.

Additional French Automakers

Prominent French luxury marques such as Delage and Delahaye also utilized Vanvooren coachwork on their chassis. An intended partnership with Citroën aimed at producing mass-market vehicles was abandoned after just a handful of prototypes were completed, far short of the targeted production run of 100 units.

Collaboration with Rolls-Royce

Throughout the 1930s, nearly all Rolls-Royce and Bentley automobiles sold in France were equipped with Vanvooren bodies. This alliance was further solidified by Walter Sleator, head of "Franco-Britannic Autos," the official Rolls-Royce importer in France, who had formerly served as Vanvooren’s sales director.

Rolls-Royce engineers held Vanvooren’s pioneering design and manufacturing techniques in high regard. They commissioned a Bentley 3½ Litre (chassis B187BL) to be fitted with a unique pillarless sedan body—lacking a central B-pillar and featuring rear-hinged rear doors—thus providing unobstructed entry for passengers. This innovative body style was subsequently shared with British coachbuilders for evaluation.

Vanvooren also partnered with Rolls-Royce’s British coachbuilder, Park Ward, to create steel car bodies that combined lightness with durability. Rolls-Royce ordered Vanvooren bodies for multiple models: four for the 20/25, one each for the "New Phantom" and Phantom II, three for Phantom IIIs, and seven for the Wraith series.

Vanvooren was extensively involved in coachbuilding on Bentley chassis as well, fitting 69 vehicles, including 16 3½ Litre, 46 4¼ Litre, and 7 Bentley Mark V units.

In the late 1930s, Vanvooren was commissioned to produce standard bodies for the Bentley Mark V "Corniche," designed part-time by Georges Paulin. By the time France fell in 1940, seven Mark V chassis had been delivered to Vanvooren’s Paris workshop; four had been bodied. The prototype (chassis 14-B-V) sustained damage during testing; its body was sent for repair while the chassis returned to Derby. Meanwhile, six additional Mark V chassis were under construction at Derby, intended to feature a new straight-8 engine and compete in the 1940 Le Mans 24 Hour race—a plan halted by the outbreak of WWII.

The restored prototype body was shipped back to Derby but was destroyed in a German air raid on Dieppe docks before reassembly could occur.

Coachbuilding for Other International Automakers

In the 1930s, Vanvooren created bespoke bodies for various notable foreign automobiles, including a 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 sporting model and a 1934 Mercedes-Benz 500K sedan. In 1936, a similar design was reportedly applied to a Mercedes-Benz 540K chassis. Additionally, in 1935 Vanvooren built bodies for a Cadillac V8 cabriolet and an Alvis Speed 20; the latter was exhibited by Alvis at the Paris Motor Show as part of their introduction into the French market.

1940 to 1950

Vanvooren’s Corbevoie factory suffered severe damage due to bombing raids in 1943, resulting in the loss of company archives. Operations recommenced in 1947 but on a significantly reduced scale. The luxury automobile market had transformed considerably; major clients like Hispano-Suiza ceased car manufacturing to concentrate on aircraft engines, while manufacturers such as Rolls-Royce-Bentley began producing complete steel-bodied cars independently—exemplified by the postwar Bentley Mark VI of 1946, which incorporated Vanvooren’s earlier advancements in steel body construction.

The French luxury car industry faced financial challenges due to wartime economic conditions and government policies that imposed heavy taxes on engines exceeding two liters and restricted steel supplies. Consequently, Vanvooren received only sporadic custom orders such as a bespoke Bentley Mk VI Coupé (chassis B332LEY) or undertook restoration work on prewar vehicles. Confronted with the decline of traditional coachbuilding demand, Vanvooren ceased its Courbevoie operations in 1950.

References