The 1952 Hotchkiss Grégoire Cabriolet is the rarest of the Hotchkiss-Grégoire vehicles that debuted at the October 1951 Paris Motor Show. The car’s many advanced features, from its low drag coefficient to its advanced suspension and road holding, as well as 27 mpg fuel economy wowed the press and show attendees. This was an extremely complex structure with a high proportion of Alpax parts that frequently had to be melted again and recast. The aluminum panels also drove costs up particularly when hand made by Chapron. The Aluminum, horizontally opposed, water cooled, 4 cylinder engine, while well designed and durable, shared no common parts with other Hotchkiss engines. Even at a retail price of about 2 million French francs (over twice the amount of a Ford Vedette or a Citroën 15-Six), the car was sold at a loss. Of the 247 cars made over three years there were 7 coupes and 5 convertibles with those bodies hand made by Henri Chapron. Ours was formerly owned by Thailand’s royal family.
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