Clénet Series III Asha

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Clénet
Clénet Series III Asha
Clénet Series III Asha
Series III Asha
Production period: 1981-1987
Class : Upper class
Body versions : Coupé , convertible
Engines: Otto engine :
4.9 liters
Length: 5194 mm
Width: 1880 mm
Height: 1372 mm
Wheelbase : 3150 mm
Empty weight : 1633 kg
successor Clénet Series IV

The Clénet Series III Asha was a car model from the American manufacturer Clénet Coachworks .

description

The Clénet range was supplemented by another model in autumn 1981, the Series III Asha. The additional designation took up the name of Alain Clénet's daughter, who was born in 1978. Like the Clénet Series II, the car was a four-seater in neo-classical style, but it was a bit more compact. The model was more independent than its predecessor; the passenger cell, for example, was now Clénet's own construction. The roof line was more angular, and there were no exhaust pipes emerging from the side of the bonnet. The car continued to use drive technology from Ford. The engine had been downsized again compared to its predecessor. For the Asha, Clénet obtained an eight-cylinder, only 4.9 liters, which delivered 136 hp. This enabled the car to reach a top speed of 145 km / h. The equipment was still complete and essentially corresponded to the previous models. A 1985 sales brochure mentioned Italian walnut, Connolly leather, British carpets, and a crystal ashtray. The Series III model has been described as a synthesis of "French charm, British status and American know-how".

Total production of the Series III is 51 or 52 vehicles, depending on the source. As with the Series II, production is divided into a phase before and a phase after the takeover of the company by Alfred di Mora:

  • Between the autumn of 1981 and the summer of 1982, 36 Asha models were produced in the new factory in Goleta. The first 14 of these were hardtop coupes, the following 22 were convertibles.
  • Between 1984 and 1986 a total of 15 or 16 more Ashas were built at the Carpinteria factory. Although a hardtop version was also offered in the sales brochure, only convertibles were sold.

Only a few vehicles were built from the successor Clénet Series IV .

literature

  • George Nick Georgano (Editor-in-Chief): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. Volume 1: A – F. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , pp. 314-315. (English)
  • Car catalog , years 1977 to 1984 (for technical data)

Web links

Commons : Clénet Series III Asha  - collection of images, videos and audio files