A bikini homestead by Chapron

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You may have heard already that the Pebble Beach Concours 2016 will feature the marque Delahaye plus the coachbuilder Henri Chapron. This reminded me of this very special Henri Chapron creation, hidden in a garage somewhere.  That would definitely make a statement at this event!

I like to present to you this very special car, or should I say yacht? Not sure if you should call this a barn find as the condition of the car is very good and complete, but it is very well hidden. A number of years ago my dad discovered this Hotchkiss/Packard, or as it is also called, the 'bateau-Réard'. We own two Chapron bodied Delahayes, so the fact that my dad was facing a Chapron was quite interesting already, not to mention the looks! It is a bit of a mysterious car, and becomes even more so when you imagine seeing this weird 'barn find'  (I liked my theme of weirdest car on PostWarClassic) at the Pebble Beach Concours 2016.

This ‘Yacht de la Route’ is not a very well known boat-car yet in the eighties it was once exhibited at Retromobile-Paris, before it fell into oblivion… does anybody remember? The name Réard gives a special meaning to this boat-car because it is the last name of Louis Réard, the inventor of the bikini! The car was his publicity vehicle which he drove around Paris and on the Rivièra with fancy bikini models, who shocked the world with their revealing swimwear, breaking with ages of taboos. Réard wanted a design of a boat-like car and Henri Chapron was mad enough to design and build it. Originally Chapron had built his very special creation on the chassis of a 866 Hotchkiss (or was it a 686 chassis?). As you can see it is not a light car, to say the least, and for that reason this special body was later moved to a 1937 Packard Super Eight chassis. With this swap the steering was changed form RHD to LHD. The Réard, with its scandalous design was used during the late forties and the fifties to tour in France, passing through many prudivillages. Of course Réard's mannequins were dressed way too scanty! Le 'Yacht de la Route' also toured a number of times with the Tour de France, attracting a lot of attention with those almost nude bikini girls!

What do you think? Would this weird creation be capable to cause commotion again these days, especially if accompanied by some sexy models? A highlight for the next Pebble Beach Concours? One thing I dare say: it definitely is the weirdest creation ever of the usually so neat and sober Henri Chapron.

(text by Rosemarijn Atalante Veenenbos )

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