When it comes to genuinely striking cars – ones that have a real, visceral presence and command your attention in much the same way that, as the old aphorism goes, two green balls in your hand means you command the attention of Kermit the Frog – you really can’t beat a Voisin. These Avions Voisin cars were designed and built with an aircraft maker’s sensibilities, a sculptor’s sense of form, and an engineer’s appreciation of mechanics. Simply put, they’re stunning.
This 1934 Avions Voisin C23/24 Roadster by Saliot is such a car, and just sold earlier tonight at auction for a staggering $2,810,000. While that’s absolutely a lot of money, I also think this car is worth it. It’s that special.
Part of what makes this car special – and there are plenty of details that contribute to this, like the ostrich leather upholstery, for example, or the incredible lighting fixtures, for another – is the incredible dashboard, and on that dashboard are a series of knobs, which are what I want to focus on now.
The knobs on this beautiful engine-turned dashboard are the ones in the lower center of the dash, arranged in a gentle arc. These knobs have symbols on them to convey what happens when you activate them, something that’s kind of forward thinking. Plenty of cars from the early 1900s to the 1960s had controls that were either un-labeled or perhaps had a small text label. Standard symbols for dash controls really didn’t fully emerge until the 1970s.
This Voisin, though, while a couple of the knobs had text explaining their functions, most had pictographic symbols, and what would delight me right now is if you helped me figure out just what the hell these symbols may mean. Let’s walk though these knobs, left to right:
Oh, easy. That’s a cockroach of some kind, right? Maybe a termite or a weevil or something? Definitely some sort of insect. This must be the knob you pull to make insects come swarming out of specially-installed dashboard vents. Right? That sounds right. It’s an important feature to have in a car.
This one actually does seem to be pretty clear. Its a holy keyhole! Pulling the knob allows the Almighty to emerge through a keyhole, also useful when driving.
No, no, I’m kidding, This has to be something to do with lights. Either turning on the lights themselves or possibly adjusting the instrument lighting.
That looks like a lightning bolt of some kind. So, this must be something electrical. Adjust the electron flow in the generator? Like a choke? Adjusting the electrons/air mixture in the generator, maybe? That’s not really a thing, is it. Maybe it’s just ignition?
That’s either a hose spraying a liquid or a squid in a top hat. Either is as likely, to be honest. It sort of looks like a fuel injector, but I’m pretty sure this thing used twin carbs. Could it be for a choke? But even then this iconography feels confusing. Does pulling or pushing the knob spray something actively or adjust the way something that constantly sprays does its thing? I’m really not sure.
And finally, we have this knob:
This one either hypnotizes you, causes the car to generate some kind of vortex or cyclone, or makes you crazy. Maybe it flushes something?
I’m open to your suggestions on all of these. Also, if there are any other Avions Voisin C23/24 owners reading this, please hop in the comments and help us out!
Squid in a top hat killed me
Pretty sure this is a Batman villains car.
Squid in a top hat. ROTFLMAO!
It’s quite clear this car was made for a French agent named Monsieur Bonde while operating in Africa.
The knobs are as follows:
A pop-up Zulu shield
Afro wig for undercover driving
Serpentine mode for dodging spears
A rake to cover your tracks
Smoke Screen activator
I’m surprised all the Autopian’s Avions Voisin owners haven’t chimed in already.
The one that looks like it should refer to a light bulb is actually depicting a polished gearshift knob because you know how much emphasis the French place on knob polishing.
From left to right:
as a French like the Voisin, I’d go for :
1) what we call “feux de croisements” (basic lights)
2) “Phares” (road light)
I think 4) my be related to an injection setting ( if the car had some very early injection system) or choke.
and 5 for me may be some kind of ventilation.
What is interesting is that the two unmentioned knobs both have a “Ville” (town/city) and “Route” (road out of town) settings… So the other knobs had functions that weren’t related to where you were driving. (urban environment or not)
Different horn settings?
Some controls may control chassis lubrication?
I know I know
Like a grown-up Cozy Coupe (cou-pay), those levers actually don’t do anything but they are still fun to play with.
Unsure how to operate. I only use VW haptics
The spiral at the end almost looks like the heart of te fiti, so I’m guessing it summons Moana to navigate, before GPS systems were available.
I thought it was just a feature on certain Fords and a particular Cadillac, but I guess Voisin also had a way to summon ZZ Top. I’ll bet “La Grange” sounds just as good in French.
“La Grange” is French, isn’t it? Google Translate says it means “the barn.”
left to right
Alarming
Shoots and Ladders reset
Le Bug
I have an Idea
Lightning about to strike so push this knob
I am French, I don’t use deodorant, This is the in car shower option
Jean Paul Sartre Life is an endless circle knob
Question: What are the two long black cylindrical things protruding from the steering column a right angles? Pretty big to be control stocks and they look fixed in place.
Also, I love the priorities of this dashboard layout. The clock is prominently right in front of the driver, while the speedometer is off to the side. It doesn’t matter as much how fast you are going, just that you will arrive on time. LOL