Franay

Franay Carossier
legal form
founding	1903
resolution	1955
Seat	Levallois-Perret , France
management	Jean-Baptiste Franay ; Marius Franay
Branch	Body shop

Franay Carossier (short: Franay ) was a French manufacturer of automobile bodies , individual assemblies for chassis of different upper class manufacturers made.

Company history

Franay Carossier was founded by Jean-Baptiste Franay, a trained saddler who had completed his training at the carriage manufacturer Henri Binder . In 1903 Franay started his own repair shop, which later became a manufacturer of automobile bodies. The company was based in the Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret . After the First World War , Marius Franay, the founder's son, took over management of the company.

In the period between the World Wars, Franay dressed chassis from Bentley , Bugatti , Delage , Delahaye , Duesenberg , Hispano-Suiza and Rolls-Royce, among others . Unlike competitors such as Chapron , Figoni et Falaschi or Saoutchik , Franay did not develop a special, unmistakable style. The designs, which mostly went back to Marius Franay during this time, primarily implemented the wishes of the respective clients, which were very different. In the 1930s, a number of structures with Art Deco elements were built that followed on from the work of Saoutchik.

After the Second World War , Marius Franay took over the chairmanship of the Association of French Car Body Manufacturers ( Chambre Syndicale de la Carosserie Française ). Various Rolls-Royce and Talbot were among the first new cars that Franay built after the end of the war . Primarily in the years 1947 and 1948 at least six drophead coupés (convertibles) based on the Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith and at least one sedan were built. Special bodies for the Talbot-Lago Type 26 Grand Sport were sensational ; Between 1947 and 1949, at least eight sporty coupés were built on the short chassis, differing in terms of the design of the radiator grille, the rear fenders and the chrome trim, as well as sporty convertibles, which are among the most sought-after and most expensive classic automobiles today.

On the other hand, a Rolls-Royce Phantom IV clad by Franay remained a one-off ; A four-door convertible, completed in June 1952, was created for the Saudi prince Talal ibn Abd al-Aziz . It is the only Rolls-Royce of this series that was not bodyworked in Great Britain and one of the few in an open version.

In the first post-war years, Franay also fitted many older pre-war chassis with new bodies, including a Bugatti Type 57 chassis made in 1936 , which was given a pontoon-style convertible body . Other bodies for Bentley and Rolls-Royce, produced around the same time, continued to follow the traditional style with shaped front and rear fenders or repeated the striking Art Deco designs of the pre-war period.

A business relationship with the French Rolls-Royce importer resulted in an order for five bodies for the Bentley R-Type Continental in 1953 . Some of Franay's hatchbacks were very similar to the basic British design by HJ Mulliner . The commissioning of Franay should have served here primarily to circumvent import duties. In addition, Franay manufactured an individual notchback body.

One of the last works Franays was a four-door sedan representation for the French president on the basis of the Citroën 15 Six H . The notchback body in pontoon style was designed by Philippe Charbonneaux . The car, registered with the registration number 2 PR 75 , was used on official occasions from 1955, including a state visit by the British Queen Elizabeth II in 1957. Due to the prolonged use at walking pace, the car overheated during a parade and had to watch the Public are turned off.

At the end of 1955 Franay ceased operations.