The magnificent
Eight Avions Voisin C25 Aérodyne were built, three of which still exist. I know one of them well, I took a long trip through northern France with it, many years ago. At that time, the vehicle belonged to the Hervé Foundation, but unfortunately I don’t know if it is still there today. But we can show a few nice pictures from our last visit here – and there is also a very detailed history of the brand. Anyway, the C25 impressed me like few other vehicles – and now exactly such a vehicle is coming up for auction at Gooding & Co., at Amelia Island 2025, with an estimated price of 2 to 2.5 million dollars. Which unfortunately I don’t have at the moment.
The history of this Aérodyne can be traced back to 1963, when Henry Browne de Kilmaine bought the car with chassis number #50023. De Kilmaine was one of the first great collectors, co-organiser of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which he never missed between 1949 and 2004. He helped to build up the collection at the Le Mans museum, but at the same time he also put together a magnificent collection of exceptional French vehicles. And the Voisin was certainly one of the highlights – with its 90 hp Schieber engine and, above all, its design, it is one of the greatest pre-war designs. When de Kilmaine died in 2008, his collection was unfortunately broken up. The Aérodyne came to Jon Hunt, was restored, sold in 2013, restored again – and given its yellow livery (it had previously been blue). Above all, the specialists at Hermès Paris took over the refurbishment of the interior, which was still largely intact. Today, #50023 probably looks more beautiful than it did when it was new.
We have more exciting pre-war classics in our archive – why not take a look for Minerva, Invicta, Lagonda, Isotta-Fraschini and Bugatti. We also have a lovely picture book of Voisin, here.
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