AutoPuzzles - The Internet's Museum of Rare Cars!

This looks very French. I thought it's something made by Labourdette ('Vutotal'), but I cannot find anything matching...

I tke this as a partial answer:
It is french.
No connection with Labourdette that I know of, but who knows?

Is it three-wheeled or are the real wheels just too close?

paul jaray involved ?

Quote from: Joao Gois on December 02, 2008, 10:53:51 AM
Is it three-wheeled or are the real wheels just too close?

I just don't know.

Quotepaul jaray involved ?

And this neither.

Mathis?

No

Any well-known deceased builder?

No

Maybe still alive...?

This line of questioning won't get you nowhere, Joao. I don't know anything about the builder, except his name (which you're supposed to find), his first name and address at the time this car was made (which I see no reason to tell you).
Maybe another view of the car (a little different though) will make up for these bad news.
I'll add one as soon as the server allows me.  It doesn't work at the time.

But watch out for competition: I'm moving the puzzle to the Pro section.

I wasn't expecting any particular answer, just a "yes" or "no", so I know in which of my sources to lok into.

And I fear no competition of the Pros. If someone finds it, even better. I'm just trying to keep this alive so someone notices it and, even if they find it before me, I can then make some proper search about this baby. I really like its shape from this point of view!  :D

Quote from: Graber on December 02, 2008, 12:26:32 PM
paul jaray involved ?

now it is....

Faure Electrique  from 1940

Of course  ;D

Damn! >:(
Just saw it today, but unfortunately from a different angle....

OK... now from that angle it's ugly as sin! Should've kept the rear only  ;)

Oh, it has had different fronts.

Oh! Much better that one!! Do you have any live shot of that?

As a matter of fact I do: I was preparing a photo for another puzzle, of a wartime (1942) electric car supposed to have been made at the Bréguet workshops, and saw this was the Faure. But not the car from the ad, exactly the one from Paul Jaray's drawing. It may be the same car as in the puzzle photo, but I can't be sure of that.
Here is the picture of the Faure besides one of Paul Arzens creations.

The pic I've ignored yesterday..

(http://www.parisenimages.fr/Export450/3000/2126-9.jpg)

That's the one. You're lucky to have been able to post it. The blasted server wouldn' let me do it (again ! )

It's only linked not attached.  ;)

This was one many electric cars which were built in France during World War II to combat the almost complete absence of petrol for civilian use. It was 4-wheeled coupe with narrow track rear wheels, seating two or three passengers, and also available as delivery van. The 3-seater was said to be designed for owners who employed a chauffer, who was seated at the front, with his passengers behind. Whether such a vehicle was built is not known; no photographs survive. The luxury 2-seater's body was built by Million-Guiet. The range was about 50 miles and tops peed 25 mph (40 km/h). Prices ran fro FFr 29,800 to 36,000; by comparison the last prewar Renault Juvaquattre cost FFr 20,900. The Pierre Faure made an appearance at the first postwar Paris Salon, in 1946, but like others of its kind, it could not compete once petrol cars became available again.

Quote from: Arunas on December 05, 2008, 05:25:27 PM
Whether such a vehicle was built is not known; no photographs survive.

This is why we can see two photographs just above, I suppose,...
(and one of them taken in the street showing that the car has been dutifully registered.)
I know it may be only a prototype, but a driveable prototype then. Thank you for the information anyway, Arunas. But what about checking it before pasting it?

Quote from: Ray B. on December 06, 2008, 03:51:20 AM
This is why we can see two photographs just above, I suppose,...
(and one of them taken in the street showing that the car has been dutifully registered.)
I know it may be only a prototype, but a driveable prototype then. Thank you for the information anyway, Arunas. But what about checking it before pasting it?

The quote "Whether such a vehicle was built is not known; no photographs survive. " clearly refers to the 3-seater chauffeur-driven version, which we don't see on any of the photos.

Quote from: ImpishGrin on December 06, 2008, 05:03:21 AM

The quote "Whether such a vehicle was built is not known; no photographs survive. " clearly refers to the 3-seater chauffeur-driven version, which we don't see on any of the photos.

If so, I apologize to Arunas. It wasn't obvious to me that there were two different cars. I thought only two different seat arrangements. I am not completely convinced, though. Maybe whoever wrote these lines (there is no credit) just ignored those photos.

"The Faure was one of a number of small electric cars wich acheived some sales during World War II in France, but could not compete when petrol returned. It was a 4-wheeled coupe with independent suspension on all wheels, a maximum speed of 28mph and a range on one charge of 43 miles. It made one appearance at a post war show, the 1946 Paris Salon"
there is a picture of a 1941's Faure Electra electric coupe' totally different from both these other pictures here!!

Credit: The New Encyclopedia of automobiles by G.N. Georgano

What's this, by whom, from when - for 1 pint?:

Remember - solving puzzles using 'Google Search by Image' is BANNED on AutoPuzzles!

Experts?

a FAURE electric car, Pierre Faure , 1941

Quote from: shamrock on January 25, 2016, 05:48:10 AM
a FAURE electric car, Pierre Faure , 1941

Yes!
Well done.

The badge:

There is one up for auction at the Artcurial auction at Retromobile in Paris next week:

QuoteSold without registration - In exceptional original condition - A very rare model (approximately 20 made) - In the same family since new - No reserve The Pierre Faure microcar is one of the many responses to the shortage of raw materials during World War II. With its backbone chassis and electric engine powered by six batteries, it could reach 40km/h and range was estimated at 50 to 70km. This car on offer was bought new by Yves Le Bihan, an engineer of l'école Centrale and the former director of the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer du Nord. This automobile enthusiast with a fascination for propulsion systems (he had filed a patent for a combustion engine, and also for a machine that could measure the strength of a horse in horsepower!), he acquired this car for economic reasons during the occupation, and it is registered 7858 FJ 3. As a mute witness of this dark period, the car still has its "Ausweis" ("Pass") that is fixed behind the windscreen and the headlights are still equipped with shutters! After the war, the car was stored by his son, in Brittany, in a former stable, and it has not moved since then. When emptying the room where the car was stored, the family remembered the car, and it is precisely in the same place that we found it. The granddaughter of Yves Le Bihan, who was a child in the 1950s, remembers having played in this strange machine, heading out for long imaginary journeys. The car is complete (except for batteries), the front bumper has been removed and everything is in strict original condition, only the hood and left front fender have been damaged during storage. Even the oil dispenser can still be found in the engine compartment, and the key still hangs on the dashboard. The transmission chains and two replacement crown/pinions come with the car. This rare car is a touching witness to a difficult period in history, where ingenuity made up for the shortages. Moreover, it has gone through the years without being cannibalized and deserves a beautiful restoration.

Estimation 15 000 - 25 000 € 

Amazing!

Another picture, taken in 1943: