What is it? Quiz #456

Its Emile Claveau's effort at making a rival to the VW KDfwagen - he maea last effort in 1956 using a DKW engine. Only one example made and it survives.

quiz #456

In 1923, the ornamental painter, grain broker and self-made automotive engineer Emile Claveau filed the first of a series of patents outlining the construction of a mid-engine car with an aerodynamic body. Prototypes were exhibited at the Paris Salon d’Automobile of 1926 and following years. A patent of 1930 describes the contrasting pontoon-style body design of the innovative Claveau ‘traction avant’. A prototype of a cabriolet was presented at the 1931 Salon, a sedan in 1932 and 1933. The pictured model is the proposed two-door/four-seater ‘berline’, which existed only on paper. Models were offered with a compact 1100cc V4-engine (Ariès?).

6CV Claveau Autobloc. Emile Claveau (1892-1974) studied Arts in Tours (Fr) before he became a genious designer and conceptor, too much in progres to be understood at his time. In 1930, he left his former mid-engined ideas, and declared FWD as the best solution. He retained the streamlining and modular construction. Besides designing advanced prototypes, he gave conferences, wrote articles, always following his best judgment, not avoiding conflicts with established car makers. Public relations were not his strong point! The last concept was saved from a scrapyard, is on display in the Pampa Bay Automobile Museum in Florida, where it run for the very first time.

Dear Prewarcar-team,
here is the solution from the Nahe-Valley...

From 1926 to 1956 Émile Claveau (1892 - 1974) exhibited cars “Automobile Claveau” in the Paris salon, all aerodynamically designed and ahead of their time. In 1930, Claveau turned with the car of this quiz to the self-supporting body with independent wheel suspension and FWD from the rear-engine design (similar to Rumpler).
The Claveau Descartes, presented in 1948, is another example of this quest for modernity. The only remaining car: Claveau Descartes (1956, also heavily influenced by DKW) can be seen at the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum, Florida.

Enjoy your start in the new week!
Best regards
Fritz

This is the Claveau 6 CV, but despite your introductory text it isn't the 1930 version, but the one Émile Claveau presented at the Paris salon in October 1932. In comparison with the 1930/31 versions, the side windows like the whole greenhouse weren't rectangular anymore and the headlights were in a lower position now. The Claveau body was entirely made of steel panels, wheelbase was 240 cm. The engine was a V4 of 1125 cc (76 x 80 mm) displacement. The car was displayed again in Paris in 1933, but no manufacturer wanted to take over this modern design.

(Judge)

Claveau 6 cv made by Emile Claveau.

Émile Claveau ?

He was not a professional automotive engineer; he studied painting at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Tours.

His first prototype at the Paris Show was a mid-engine car with an aerodynamic body. The design was very rational and he avoided using a 'true' rear engine, with too much imbalance in the repartition of weights between the front and the rear axle. Instead, he placed the engine right before the rear axle.

For three years the inventor came back to the Paris Show with the same basic principle but with constant ameliorations. In 1930 when other engineers were jumping on the bandwagon with rear engines, he declared than the front wheel drive was a better solution. To improve the handling, it was necessary to revert the scheme, moving forward both the engine and the driving wheels. This scheme also allowed to enlarge and rationalize the passenger and luggage compartments.

Bodies of the new Claveau cars were of the pontoon type, always streamlined. The name of the front wheel drive car was Auto-Bloc. The body of his front wheel drive design was retaining the same characteristics as the mid-engine cars for the streamlining and also for the construction: modular and without a chassis.

Besides designing advanced prototypes he was giving conferences and writing for automobile magazines without any concession to the old guard. Public relations were not his strong point, alas.

After the war Emile Claveau introduced a totally new car, looking a bit like the prewar German DKW F9 but much larger and powered by a compact V-8 engine.

It was named Descartes - a kind of homage to Cartesian philosophy. This car never saw serial production. Its scheme had been constantly reworked, with DKW two-stroke engines installed in later versions.

Today Emile Claveau is forgotten. All his prototypes save one are gone. The lucky exception is the last concept from the 1956 Paris Show. Dr. Jeanson, a great French collector and automobile historian, saved it.

Now this unique car is exhibited at the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum, Florida. One of the most interesting car museums I ever visited. I suggest it to all enthusiasts as it is a real «tribute to advanced automotive concepts and the engeneers behind them ».

I think it's a Claveau built in 1930.

Always intent on designing the "rational" car, Emile Claveau produced a series of prototypes which included one (in 1947) that he called the Descartes, to drive the point home! His concept of "rational" changed radically between 1926, when he showed his first car - a mid-engined, Jaray-like streamliner - and 1930, when he presented the car in the quiz, which was a front-engined, front wheel drive sedan, dubbed the 6CV Claveau Auto-bloc. He switched to fwd for improved handling, but he was unable to find commercial backing for the car, or for any of his subsequent designs.

Auto-Bloc 6 CV Claveau à traction avant.