- Hardcover: 144 pages
- Publisher: Veloce Publishing Ltd; First Edition edition (27 Aug 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1845842448
- ISBN-13: 978-1845842444
- Product Dimensions: 25.2 x 17.8 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 411,980 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
This biography of Andre Lefebvre gives a revealing insight into the work of a practically unknown aeronautic engineer who, after building and racing competition cars for Gabriel Voisin in 1933, created for Andre Citroen the revolutionary front wheel drive Traction Avant (light fifteen in the UK). He was responsible for the minimalist 2CV and the Citroen DS, which was the sensation of the automotive world in 1955, and is still an icon of original automobile engineering and avant-garde design today. Together with his colleagues at Citroen, Andre Lefebvre created the Traction Avant (1934), the TUB (1939) - Citroen's first front wheel drive utility van that was succeeded by the H and HY vans (1947) - the Deux Chevaux (1948), and, last but not least, the DS (1955). From 1923 to 1931 Lefebvre also designed several highly original and outstanding competition cars and record-breaking automobiles for Voisin. He even drove some these cars in races and record attempts. It is obvious that during his 16 years with Gabriel Voisin he was very much influenced by the ideas of this illustrious aviation pioneer and car manufacturer. The experience gained during that period gave him the self-confidence to persuade his successive bosses at Citroen that his unorthodox approach to automobile design was what the company needed; first he convinced Andre Citroen, later Pierre Michelin, then Pierre-Jules Boulanger, and finally Robert Puiseux and Pierre Bercot. His oeuvre for Citroen alone earns him a place of honour among the great automobile designers of the past century. The fact that most present-day cars still carry the DNA of his design philosophy makes him stand out above other automotive pioneers and innovators. That is why it is amazing that so little is known about this fascinating and brilliant engineer. This book was written in order to remedy that, and to pay tribute to Andre Lefebvre: the passionate pioneer who left car enthusiasts around the world such an important heritage.
About the Author
Gijsbert-Paul Berk studied at the Institute for Automobile Management IVA, Driebergen, and worked as an apprentice for Maurice Gatsonides (Gatso). As a post graduate, he did courses on industrial time- and production management and on marketing communications. His first job was as an assistant in the sports department of the Netherlands Automobile Club, KNAC. At that time he started writing articles for their magazine De Auto. Between 1955 and 1959 he was technical editor of AutoVisie, and the first Dutch journalist to road test the CitroA"n DS. He participated in various economy runs and was a member of the NAV team, organizing motor races at the Zandvoort circuit. After a stint as a freelance journalist, working for, amongst others, Car and Driver (USA) and Popular Mechanics, as well as writing and translating books, he became PR manager for Renault in the Netherlands. In 1973 he was appointed Deputy Director at the Amsterdam Exhibition and Congress Centre RAI, responsible for all communications. He has also contributed to a TV documentary on the 50th anniversary of the CitroA"n DS and was a member of the jury for the International Concours d'Elegance at Het Loo, Apeldoorn (Netherlands).
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
For decades I have been fascinated by Andre Citroen. His character was so diverse, at once gifted, generous, pragmatic, flawed and this book has filled in many details for me. In contrast I knew almost nothing about Gabriel Voisin but now I want to learn as much as I can about this man who achieved so much. Andre Lefebvre, the link between these two great pioneers, is shown to be a visionary engineer capable of taking on a project of his own or that of others, experimenting, modifying and rethinking it, enthusing colleagues and then creating an object of aesthetic and engineering beauty, even when restrained by financial and production reality at work and family difficulties at home. A fascinating insight into a small society of friends, families and financial connections in the fifty years prior to the second World War. Amazingly well illustrated, if the book has a fault it is the flat and dull style in which it is written which may disappoint less enthusiastic readers.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
An excellent book. Well written and researched, an interesting and detailed account of one of the 'forgotten' designers of the 20th Century. Forgotten? Well in the UK, perhaps he simply less well known. Type setting around graphics is a little odd, but apart from that, I'd highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Citroen & Voisin cars, or motor industry history in France.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A great story of an engineer with vision who gave the world three of the world's most original and technically interesting cars - namely the Citroen Traction Avant, 2CV & DS. Very well illustrated and a must for Automotive Historians and Citroen fans everywhere. It is difficult to imagine a new vehicle being introduced in 2010 which was as advanced it its' day as the DS was in 1955!
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