André Lefebvre

André René Lefebvre (* 19th August 1894 in Louvres , France ; † 4. May 1964 in L'Etang-la-Ville ) was a French racing driver and automotive - engineering .

Life

Lefèbvre studied at the Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace , where he graduated as an engineer. He was initially an aerospace engineer and racing driver who also won the now legendary Monte Carlo Rally in 1927 . From 1916 he worked in Gabriel Voisin's factory , where he initially dealt with airplanes, but also developed the Voisin C6 Laboratoire racing car . After the Second World War , Lefèbvre turned more to automobile construction. From 1931 to 1933 he worked for Renault . In 1933 he was hired by André Citroën for his Citroën automobile plant of the same name . After the death of Citroën in 1935, he worked under his successor, the particularly innovative force Pierre-Jules Boulanger , who from the Michelin - Group came.

Together with the designer Flaminio Bertoni , Lefèbvre created three worldwide sensational cars, all of which are among the “automobile classics”: The Traction Avant (“Traction avant” = front-wheel drive), the so-called “gangster car”, the Citroën DS ( Déesse - goddess ) and the Citroën 2CV , the "duck". He also designed the Citroën Type H delivery van , which also achieved cult status among enthusiasts .

All four models were built for at least 20 years or more. The "duck" was produced for 42 years and is his most popular work. The DS, in turn, is considered his masterpiece. When he crossed the avenue des Champs-Élysées with the first DS on October 5, 1955 , there was a crowd .

For health reasons, Lefèbvre retired from active professional life in 1957, but afterwards the Citroën developers were always happy to be consulted.

gallery

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  Voisin C6 Laboratory

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  Traction Avant

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  Citroën DS

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  Citroën 2CV

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  Citroën type H

statistics

Le Mans results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1928	Société des Construction Automobile Parisienne	SCAP Type O	Henri Guilbert	failure	Engine failure

Web links

• André Lefebvre, France. In: www.racingsportscars.com. Retrieved April 20, 2020 (English). 
• André René Lefebvre. In: www.24h-en-piste.com. Retrieved April 20, 2020 (French).