Gijsbert-Paul Berk, who wrote the biography of the French engineer André Lefebvre and the cars he created at Voisin and Citroën, is now preparing a new book. (Read our review)
The new book will be about André Dubonnet (1897-1980), another Frenchman who devoted his life to automobiles.
To complete his research Gijsbert wishes to contact Dubonnet’s family and / or descendants. Some of them could live in the USA. Because André Dubonnet’s second wife, Mrs. Xenia Howard Johnston (they were married on 9 march 1932, in Neuilly-sur-Seine near Paris, France) and his last wife Mrs. Elise Curtis (they were married on 28 June 1966, in Neuilly-sur-Seine near Paris, France) were both American.
André Dubonnet flew in WWI a Hispano-Suiza powered SPAD S.VII fighter plane, and was part of the famous Escadron des ‘Cigognes’ (Storks). During the early twenties he raced quite successfully with Hispano-Suizas, Bugattis and Duesenberg. Later he became inventor and entrepreneur and was actively involved in the concepts of a number of rather fascinating prototype cars.Together with the French engineer Gustave Emile Chédru he developed the suspension system (covered by US Patent No. 2,054,063, filed on March 8, 1933), that was used from 1934 to 1939 by General Motors for the independent front suspension of their Chevrolet cars. He also sold the manufacturing rights of the Dubonnet suspension to Fiat, Simca and Alfa Romeo.
Between 1938 and 1944 Dubonnet created the impressive Hispano-Suiza engined and Saoutchik bodied Xenia II streamline coupé (with Dubonnet independent suspension on all four wheels). It is now part of the collection in the Mullin Automotive Museum at Oxnard, California.
If you can be of any help to Mr. Gijsbert-Paul Berk, please contact me at vack@cox.net. I will forward all correspondence.