1954 Satecmo 'Eolia' - A unique motorcar

André George Claude was the son of the famous French Chemist and Physicist, George Claude. André was also an impressive engineer, who, because he could not find a race car he liked, decided to devote his time to designing and building an entirely French racing car. He was already a keen racing driver having competed in the Tour de France, Alpine Rally and the Mont Ventoux Hillclimb. André had also raced a Satecmo modified 4CV in the 1951 Le Mans 24 Hours. His company, Satecmo, were to build it using a Renault engine since they were already supplying tuning equipment for the 4CV. By 1954 the car was ready to run but it was not actually registered until October 1958 with the number 860 HK 75. He gave it the name Eolia, after Eolias, the God of the winds in classical mythology. The plan was to enter the car into The Le Mans 24 Hours. It was remarkably fast and was capable of 104mph, with acceleration to match. Claude was not afraid of innovation so he mounted the original 850cc engine from the Renault 4CV centrally in the back of the car. This in turn was mated to a five speed "reverse gate' gearbox of his own design.

In 1960, the Renault 4CV engine was superseded by the engine out of the Renault Dauphine Gordini. The engine in André's "Eolia' was then tuned by Renault experts Mignotet who later went on to tune and build engines for the Renault Alpine. The result was a power increase to around 69hp. The Berlinetta style body was designed by Eiffel and was made out of magnesium. Once again Claude's expertise came into play and after extensive wind tunnel tests at Eiffel the magnesium body was argon welded. Claude also firmly believed that the only place for a steering wheel was on the right hand side. Handling was at a premium and with the 90 litre tank placed up front the balance was excellent, as was the visibility. The car and its innovative design were later offered to Renault and Claude even had dreams of selling it in America, but none of these plans came to fruition accounting for why there was only ever one example of this technically intriguing and highly innovative car. Sadly, Claude's other dream, to race his car at Le Mans, never materialised either.

The car was sold in 1967 to a young engineer and it lived in South West France until the current owner bought the car in 2006 as the believed second owner. There are just 15,000kms on the clock. The coachwork is described as new, as is the electrical equipment and transmission which is the Claude 5-speed box of the original design.

The car is road legal with French registration and is surprisingly rapid, as might be expected with a tuned engine and lightweight body. The blue paintwork is described as good and the patinated interior trim is blue leather.

If you are looking to acquire a unique car that boasts some highly advanced design ideas and that, with some research, could be eligible and competitive in a variety of UK and European race series', then this is a special car not to be missed...