Marcel Riffard

The Vélo-Torpille

Étienne Bunau-Varilla was the son of a French engineer who had become wealthy working on the abortive French Panama Canal project. After completing his Baccalauréat, the younger Bunau-Varilla was given an airplane as a gift, and participated in some air races. He later started racing bicycles, and was the originator of the Vélo-Torpille (Torpedo bike).[6] Work on the project started in 1910.[7]

Riffard designed a narrow, tapering dirigible-shaped fairing made of wood and celluloid for the bike that covered the rider's entire body except for his lower legs. The completed assembly weighed 17 kg (37.5 lb)[7][8]

The shape of the bike and fairing earned it the nickname ""l'Oeuf de Berthet" — Berthet's egg.[7] Marcel Berthet was a cyclist who had held several world kilometre records, and he would be in the bike for its record attempts.[8]

In 1913 Berthet covered one kilometre in 1 minute 04 seconds at the Parc des Princes stadium in the Vélo-Torpille. Later at the Vélodrome d'Hiver he reduced his time to 1 minute 02 seconds, setting a new Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) record. The UCI refuses to recognize the feat because the bike has Riffard's fairing.[7][8]

Berthet in the Vélodyne, 1933

Riffard helped design another fairing-covered bicycle called the Vélodyne that was a project of just Riffard and Berthet.[9][8]

This cycle had a reversed front fork holding a wheel smaller than the rear. The metal frame was made of aluminum, while the fairing was of spruce and magnolia wood covered in canvas.[8] Total weight was 15 kg (33.1 lb). The fairing, which extended almost to the ground, opened on the side to admit the rider. Fabrication was done by the Caudron Aircraft Company.[8]

On 9 September 1933, Berthet covered 48.6 km (30.199 mi) in one hour at the Parc des Princes, beating the standing record. Two months later Berthet took the Vélodyne out on the l'Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry and increased his distance to 49.992 km (31.064 mi) for the hour. Neither of these forays were recognized by the UCI.[8]

Riffard contributed to the design of a concept car called the Renault Rafale. Unveiled in 1934, this car was the precursor to the Renault Vivastella Grand Sport launched the same year.[10]

Renault Viva Grand Sport

In 1934 Renault debuted their Vivastella Grand Sport, with a body designed by Riffard. The car was renamed the Renault Viva Grand Sport the next year. Riffard applied his experience designing streamlined aircraft to produce the car's body shape. The car debuted at the 1934 Salon de Paris, alongside the Nervastella, and was built by Renault between 1934 and 1939. At 1,720 mm (67.7 in), the car is wide enough to seat three people abreast. It is powered by an inline six-cylinder engine displacing 4.1 L (250 cu in), mounted lengthwise at the front.

Renault hired record holder and celebrity aviator Hélène Boucher to promote the Viva Grand Sport.[11][12][13]

Nervasport des Records reproduction

About six years after setting land speed records with its streamlined Type NM 40CV single-seater, Renault once again decided to pursue new land speed records, initially with a tuned Nervastella at Monthléry in March 1932.[14][15]

For the next attempt Renault commissioned l'atelier 153, a dedicated workshop within Renault under the direction of Auguste Riolfo that handled testing new models and special projects, to build a dedicated land speed racer.[15]

The car was based on a standard Nervasport chassis, but with a custom body designed by Riffard and made of hand-hammered metal supported by a wooden framework.[15][16][17] The single seater had an enclosed cockpit with a flat windscreen. The roofline angled slightly downwards behind the driver, and narrowed into a fin-like shape. Length and width were 5.2 m × 1.87 m (205 in × 74 in), and the car weighed 1,600 kg (3,527 lb).[16]

The record car used the 4.8 L (293 cu in) flathead straight-8 engine from the production Nervasport, which produced 108 hp (80.5 kW), mated to a 3-speed manual transmission.[18][16][19]

The drivers selected for the run were Roger Quatresous, Léo Fromentin, André Wagner, and Georges Berthelon, who also served as garage manager. Each driver rotated in three-hour shifts.[15][16][17]

The record attempt started at Monthléry on 3 April 1934 at 3:37 pm, and continued until just before 4:00 pm, 5 April 1934.[15][18] The attempt set three world records and nine international records for cars with engines displacing 3.0–5.0 L (183–305 cu in), including the 48-hour speed record, with an average speed of 167.445 km/h (104.045 mph).[15] New average speed records were also set for 4,000 and 5,000 mi (6,437 and 8,047 km) distances.[18]

On the eightieth anniversary of the Nervasport's record-breaking run, and in advance of their 110th anniversary of motorsports activity, Renault commissioned a replica of the 1934 Nervasport des Records be built.[20] The first sketches of the car were done in 2014, and the completed replica debuted on the Montlhérey circuit in June 2016.[21]

The records set by the Nervasport des Records did not stand long. On 8 May 1934, at 4:00 pm, a streamlined single-seat Delahaye appeared at Monthléry and raised the record average speed to just over 193 km/h (120 mph), and set a new record for the 10,000 km (6,214 mi) distance. Renault's response was to build a new land speed car.[15]

The new car's bodywork was once again designed by Riffard, and construction was handled by l'atelier 153. This car was based on the chassis of a Renault Vivasport, and used that model's 3.6 L (220 cu in) inline six-cylinder engine.[15][1] Its long nose and ovoid front air intake were reminiscent of the Nervasport car, but the canopy over the driver reflected Riffard's aviation background, with a wrap-around windscreen and a roofline that dropped down much more sharply than the roofline of the Nervasport des Records, with no fin.

The car began its record attempt on 13 August 1934. At 7:45 pm Quatresous took the first shift, and was replaced by Fromentin at 10:45 pm, and then Berthelon at 1:45 am. At 3:30 am there was an accident that resulted in the car being destroyed in an explosion and subsequent fire, while Berthelon was thrown out of the car to his death.[22][15]

Autobleu 750 Mille Miles

For the 1954 Mille Miglia the Autobleu company produced its only works racing car; the model 750 Mille Miles (MM). The engine was still the Renault Billancourt from the 4CV, but displacement was increased to 950 cc (58.0 cu in). The engine was tuned by Porsche, and developed 70 hp (52 kW). The streamlined developed by Riffard was built by Carrosserie G.T.R.[23] In the 1954 race it was driven by Jean Sigrand and Jean Bianchi, and went out due to an accident. It was entered in the 1955 Mille Miglia, but it is unclear whether it raced. It then ran in the 1956 12 Hours of Reims.[24] Driven by Lucien Bianchi and Christian Poirot, it finished eleventh in class, and twenty-first overall.[25]

The Autobleu 750 MM was preceded by an earlier Riffard design for a car called the Renault-Riffard Tank. Built on the chassis of an existing race car called the Guépard sometime between 1950 and 1954, this compact barquette had full-width "tank" style bodywork with the side profile of an airfoil cross-section. The bodywork was designed by Riffard and fabricated by Heuliez.[26][27][28] Power came from a 4CV engine bored out to 904 cc (55.17 cu in), and fitted with an Autobleu cylinder head. Both engine and transmission had been moved to the front of the chassis.[29]

In 1953 Panhard decided to become directly involved in racing. Paul Panhard established a racing team under director Etienne de Valance.[30] During World War II (WWII), René Panhard had flown fighter planes from Caudron-Renault, and he contacted Riffard to design their new endurance racers.[31] Riffard produced designs for two of three of Panhard's own endurance racers; the X88, and X89. As there were no corresponding Dyna X series X88 or X89, these designations were specific to the racing cars built by Panhard.

Panhard X88 Riffard's original 1953 Le Mans barquette bodywork was wide and low, with a flat tapering tail. The car's chassis was of light alloy, with bodywork of Duralinox.[30] The passenger compartment was faired in except for an opening for the driver, with a raised headrest as part of the bodywork behind his seat. At the front, the leading edges of the fenders projected forward, and during some events were capped by conspicuous forward-facing conical covers. The first X88 was powered by a 610 cc (37.2 cu in) Panhard twin. The body of the X88 would be revised more than once, first to a more traditional sportscar style with exposed headlamps, then to a smooth curving nose with covered lamps.

Panhard X89 The original bodywork for the 1953 Le Mans car was similar in appearance to that of the X88 and was also of Duralinox. The X89, however, was powered by the larger 848 cc (51.7 cu in) Panhard twin. And like the X88, the X89's body would later be revised, with at least one car being bodied as a closed berlinette with a smooth curving nose.

Panhard's next racing car, the VM5, was designed by engineer Pierre Durand.[30] After the accident at Le Mans in 1955, Panhard withdrew from direct racing involvement, and Monopole became Panhard's officially supported racing team. The cars were transferred to Écurie Monopole and raced as Panhard-Monopoles.[32][30]