Waldemar Lestienne

Corre-La Licorne J Sport from 1907

Waldemar Lestienne (born September 21, 1878 in Abbeville ; † March 18, 1967 ) was a French automobile designer - and entrepreneur who was also active as a racing driver.

Career

Waldemar Lestienne's life and career were closely linked to the history of the French car manufacturer Corre-La Licorne . The racing cyclist Jean-Marie Corre founded Automobiles Corre in 1895 , a company that first manufactured bicycles and from 1899 automobiles. In 1904 Corre built a drive plus gearbox developed by Louis Renault into one of his designs . This was followed by a lawsuit from Renault. The following legal battle ended in 1907 with the success of Renault. Corre lost his money in the lengthy legal battle and the company was bankrupt .

At the time of the bankruptcy, Waldemar Lestienne was already working at Corre as a designer of racing cars. He managed to persuade his wealthy father, Firmin Lestienne, a cotton merchant , to take over the automobile company. Corre became Corre-La Licorne. The addition Licorne , French for unicorn , referred to the Lestienne's family coat of arms.

Waldemar Lestienne stayed with the company and continued to be primarily responsible for the development and construction of the racing vehicles. From the 1930s on, he was the chief engineer for all vehicle development at Corre-La Licorne and, after his father's death, became the owner. Production ended in 1950 and Lestienne was 72 years old. The company went bankrupt and the factory was sold to Renault .

In the 1920s, Lestienne was also active as a racing driver. He competed four times in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and was one of the pioneers who entered the 1923 debut race . His teammate was mainly his brother Robert , with whom he competed twice in the 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps ( 1925 and 1926 ).

statistics

Le Mans results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1923	Societe Française des Automobiles Corre	Corre La Licorne EV 12CV	Albert Colomb	Rank 28
1924	Société Française des Automobiles Corre	Corre La Licorne V16 10CV Sport	Albert Colomb	failure	Valve damage
1925	Société Française des Automobiles Corre	Corre La Licorne V16 10CV Sport	Robert Lestienne	Rank 9
1926	Société Française des Automobiles Corre	Corre-La Licorne G6 Sport	Louis Balart	failure	accident

literature

• RM Clarke: Le Mans. The Bentley & Alfa Years 1923–1939. Brocklands Books, Cobham 1999, ISBN 1-85520-465-7 .

Web links

• Waldemar Lestienne and Corre-La Licorne (French)
• Information about Corre-La Licorne (French)
• Results at Racing Sports Cars