Descrição
1964 – René Bonnet Djet
Chassis number: 1099
Estimate: 38 / 48, 000 €
- The first car with a mid-rear-mounted engine
- History known back to 1967
It was the embodiment of the letter ‘B’ of the renowned DB marque, created in 1947 by Charles Deutsch and René Bonnet. Together, they had built the Panhard-engined sports racing cars which scored several victories in the Index of performance at the Le Mans 24 Hours race, as well as single-seaters such as the Monomill. At the beginning of 1962, the two men split up to create their own makes. After finding new premises in Romorantin and establishing an industrial partnership with the GAP company (la Générale d'Application Plastique) through Matra, René Bonnet and his engineer Jacques Hubert went on to create the Djet, a new small sports coupé with a Renault engine and a polyester shell and bodywork produced by GAP, which would go down in history as the first car sold with a mid-rear-mounted engine. Unfortunately, due to the fall in sales of the Djet, the Société des Automobiles René Bonnet was no longer able to pay its bills, and in October 1964 it was taken over by Matra, trading under the business name of Automobiles Bonnet. In April 1965, production of the new Djet V and VS began, now christened Matra-Bonnet. They still bore the Capricorn logo (the sign of the zodiac of René Bonnet), but this was subsequently replaced by the Matra-Sports logo. In October 1966, the company Automobiles Bonnet was put into liquidation. The Matra-Bonnet Djet V and VS evolved into the Matra-Sports Jet 5 and 6, of which Matra would manufacture 1495 until 1968, making a total of 1693 cars across all the different versions, including the 198 examples produced by René Bonnet.
The model which we are offering for sale was the 99th car to leave René Bonnet’s assembly shop. It is a genuine Djet, first registered on 4 March 1964. Remarkably, it has been with its current owner since 21 February 1984, i. e. for more than 33 years. Its history can be traced back to 1967 and it had only two owners before its current keeper. This exceptional history is undoubtedly a reassuring sign of stability in the current market. Through all these years, the car has been a source of pleasure for its owner, especially at meetings of classic cars. Originally restored more than 20 years ago, the Djet is today in satisfactory condition. This amazing car does, however, need to be resprayed to return it to its original sky-blue colour, while a mechanical service would allow it to be driven with peace of mind, its owner scarcely having used it these past few years. The Djet still has its cast-iron block Cleon engine, which is very simple to maintain. The interior has already been restored and is in superb condition. It is an unusual sports car, a true collector’s model and an important contributor to a period in the history of French sports car-making, which is still available at a reasonable price.
This car will be sold during the auction car sale organized by Claude AGUTTES Auction during the event Epoqu’Auto Motor Show, which will take place in Lyon, France, on 11th November 2017.
Please contact us for any further details.
Online catalogue of this auction is available on our website:
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