Jean-Albert Grégoire

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jean-Albert Grégoire and Fernand Vallon in the Tracta A28 at the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1930
The AFG Grégoire from 1941

Jean-Albert Grégoire (born July 7, 1899 in Paris , † August 19, 1992 ) was a French engineer, inventor and automobile pioneer .

constructor

Grégoire studied at the École polytechnique and received a doctorate in law. He became famous for the successful front-wheel drive vehicles he developed under the Tracta brand . In 1924, he designed a Tracta, the first series vehicle with front-wheel drive . In 1935 he won a two-seater vehicle with an aluminum frame construction, a competition organized by the French “ Societe des Ingenieurs de l'Automobile (SIA) ” to develop a simple and affordable car for “everyone”.

He later worked with the French aluminum manufacturer Aluminum Français and developed the car compound made largely from the aluminum alloy Alpax by the French manufacturer Amilcar , which was sold in France and England between 1936 and 1939 (by Hotchkiss et Cie as Hotchkiss Ten ). From 1941 he developed the AFG Grégoire prototype together with Aluminum Français , from which the Panhard Dyna X emerged. He also designed the CGE Tudor electric car for CGE and in 1945 the Grégoire R , which became the Hotchkiss-Grégoire . In 1952 he was involved in the creation of the first French turbine car from SOCEMA (Société de constructions et d'équipements mécaniques pour l'avition) with a top speed of around 200 km / h as an experimental car. A model depicted in the comic strip Spirou and Fantasio is also based on this car . The motorcycle manufacturer Monet et Goyon used wheel suspension systems named after him in the 1950s. From 1956 he produced the Grégoire Sport in small series. His last automobile project was the Grégoire Charbonneaux from 1969.

Racing driver and author

In addition to his work as an engineer, Grégoire was also active in sports and as a book author. He played rugby and was French champion over 100 meters . In 1927 , 1928 , 1929 and 1930 he took part in the Le Mans 24-hour race with a Tracta . He later wrote several books on automobile history and automobile construction, such as Des autos et des mots , Toutes mes automobiles and Vivre sans pétrole .

statistics

Le Mans results

year team vehicle Teammate placement Failure reason
1927 FranceFrance SA of the automobile Tracta Tracta Gephi FranceFrance Lucien Lemesle Rank 7
1928 FranceFrance SA of the automobile Tracta Tracta Type A FranceFrance Fernand Vallon Rank 17
1929 FranceFrance SA of the automobile Tracta Tracta Type A FranceFrance Fernand Vallon Rank 10
1930 FranceFrance SA of the automobile Tracta Tracta A28 FranceFrance Fernand Vallon Rank 8 and class win

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Grégoire, Jean-Albert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French engineer
DATE OF BIRTH July 7, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Paris
DATE OF DEATH 19th August 1992