CD Dyna
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The CD Dyna , also Panhard & Levassor CD Le Mans or CD-Panhard Dyna Coupé, was a sports car prototype that was built by Panhard & Levassor in 1962 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans .
There are different spellings and names for this sports prototype. In the results lists of the Le Mans 24-hour race, the vehicle is listed as CD Dyna, which is why this typology has been adopted here.
At the end of 1961, it became known that the French automobile designer Charles Deutsch had separated from his long-term partner René Bonnet . Panhard showed great interest in Deutsch, who was best known as an aerodynamicist. Deutsch agreed to design a new prototype for Panhard, this time a coupé, for the 1962 Le Mans 24-hour race . Deutsch had already worked on a sports car project with a Panhard engine, so the contact was made at the right time. In January 1962, work began on five tubular frames for the chassis, which were named 101 to 105. Chappe et Gessalin produced the five aerodynamic bodies based on the design by Deutsch . The cars were powered by a 702 cm³ 2-cylinder engine. Chassis 105 was given a more powerful 954 cc engine for the Tour de France for automobiles .
The coupé was first used at the Le Mans test days in April 1962, when Pierre Lelong and Bernard Boyer achieved 20 and 21 times respectively. The vehicles were registered in the class for experimental vehicles up to 850 cm³. The good test results resulted in an expansion of the operational program at Panhard. In May 1962, for example, the French team took two vehicles to the 1000 km race at the Nürburgring . Bernhard Boyer and André Guilhaudin achieved 24th place in the overall standings, while Alain Bertaut and Jean-Pierre Hanrioud were out. Three of the coupés competed in Le Mans, and the car with the starting number 53, driven by Bertaut and Guildaudin, achieved the hoped-for class win with 16th place overall. The Boyer / Verrier and Lelong / Hanrioud cars failed due to engine failure or an accident.
At the end of the year the Tour de France and the 1000 km race in Paris were still being driven , then the short racing career of the Dyna Coupés ended.