Voisin C11 History

After abandoning racing in 1926, Gabriel Voisin introduced the C11 — Avions Voisin's first six-cylinder car. The engine displaced 2,326 cc and used the same bore and stroke as the existing four-cylinder C7, now in a longer inline-six configuration with a Knight sleeve-valve arrangement that gave it the marque's characteristic near-silent running.

Unlike most rivals who supplied rolling chassis to independent coachbuilders, Voisin offered the C11 with a factory-built, integrated aluminum body — a complete, finished luxury car sold directly to buyers. This approach reflected Gabriel Voisin's belief that the body and chassis should be designed as a single aerodynamic and structural unit.

Around 2,200 C11s were constructed, making it the best-selling individual Voisin model. The six-cylinder sleeve-valve engine proved so successful that it was developed and carried forward through successive chassis designations well into the 1930s, underpinning the C14 and its successors.