Chappe et Gessalin

Template:Short description Template:Infobox company Chappe et Gessalin is the short-form of the name of French coachbuilder "Carrosserie Chappe Frères et Gessalin". The company built automobile bodies and did contract assembly for other automobile manufacturers. It was also the parent of Automobiles CG, a French automobile maker founded in 1966 which built and sold complete cars under its own name.

Early history

The 1930s and 1940s

The story of Chappe et Gessalin began in 1932, in the commune of Saint-Maur-des-Fosses near Paris.<ref name="amicale1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="automobilerevue">Template:Cite web</ref> In that year the Carrosserie Chappe was founded by Jean Chappe. Working with him were his three sons, Abel, Albert and Louis and an apprentice, Amédée Gessalin.<ref name="echappementc1">Template:Cite web</ref> The shop did bodywork in both wood and steel.

The Second World War interrupted the company's activities for a time but they resumed at the end of hostilities. In 1946 Jean sold the carrosserie to his three sons. By that time Amédée was also a part of the family, having married the Chappe's eldest daughter Marie-Louise. The brothers added his name to the masthead and the company became "Carrosserie Chappe Frères et Gessalin". On the death of Amédée his son Jean took his father's place in the company.<ref name="amicale4">Template:Cite web</ref>

The new company's work included commercial vehicles, a specialty being the construction of firetruck bodies on truck frames produced by Delahaye.<ref name="echappementc1"/><ref name="breve">Template:Cite web</ref> They also carved out a niche doing more specialized work, such as bodywork in duralumin for Talbot and repairs on the Delahaye 135, 136 and Talbot T26 racing cars owned by Charles Pozzi, who would become a major dealer in Ferrari and Maserati cars.<ref name="rarefrenchcg">Template:Cite web</ref>

The 1950s and 1960s

Before his death Amédée Gessalin taught his son how to draw and plan vehicles. Jean, an admirer of great Parisian designers Chapron and Figoni, worked on honing his own skills by attending evening classes taught by these men.<ref name="echappementc1"/>

Chappe et Gessalin provided the aluminum bodywork for the Bosvin-Michel Speciale (BMS) throughout its many revisions. This car was designed and built by Camille Bosvin and driven by Guy Michel. It had a tubular-steel frame and was noteworthy in being one of the first cars to mount its engine (from a Renault 4CV) amidships. The BMS was a regular at Montlhéry, and won the Bol d'Or in 1952 and 1953.<ref name="autodromebms">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="gazolinebms">Template:Cite web</ref>

Another project that Chappe et Gessalin were involved with was the SCVS-DB specials. These cars, given chassis numbers 1065 and 1066 by Renault, were initially a project of Renault dealers Jean Rédélé and Louis Pons. The cars were built by the small French firm of Deutsch-Bonnet with aluminum bodywork by Chappe et Gessalin. Power came from a Renault 4CV engine. One of the cars appeared at Le Mans in 1953.<ref name="scvs">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="renamed_from_1066_on_20161230032825">Template:Cite web</ref>

In the early 1950s Chappe et Gessalin began experimenting with Fibre-reinforced plastic, (specifically Fiberglass). Using resins and techniques imported from the United States they started producing lightweight automobile bodies for sportscars and racing cars from a succession of independent fabricators and small manufacturers.<ref name="leroux">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="amicale2">Template:Cite web</ref>

Deutsch-Bonnet themselves became a client of Chappe et Gessalin, who started by providing plastic noses for DB's monomil single-seaters and bodywork for other racers and would go on to build 200 copies of DB's "Le Mans" road car.<ref name="leroux"/><ref name="as-cg">Template:Cite web</ref>

Even when the founders of Deutsch-Bonnet, René Bonnet and Charles Deutsch, ended their partnership in 1961 and established separate car companies (Automobiles René Bonnet and CD), they both continued to use lightweight fibreglass bodywork supplied by Chappe et Gessalin. René Bonnet went to them to develop bodywork for his new Djet.<ref name="djet">Template:Cite web</ref> For Charles Deutsch Chappe et Gessalin produced the body of the Panhard-powered racing CDs and built 160 of the Panhard CD road cars.<ref name="leroux"/><ref name="anciennes">Template:Cite web</ref>

The company also worked with less well-known companies such as Camille Martin's UMAP (1957-1959) and Raymond Gaillard's Arista.<ref name="rarefrenchumap">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Apart from the SCVS-DB cars, throughout the 1950s Jean Rédélé was involved in several automotive projects, including several Rédélé Spéciales, the Marquis, PlastiCar, and others. Rédélé crossed paths with Chappe et Gessalin often and would in time become their most famous client of all.

As a young man Jean Gessalin drew a small coupé based on Renault 4CV mechanicals as a design exercise for himself, which design he left behind while away performing his compulsory military service. On his return he discovered that his drawing has been turned into a car by his family.<ref name="echappementc1"/>

A Renault concessionaire named Charles Escoffier saw the car and contacted his son-in-law, Jean Rédélé. 25 copies of the car were ordered from Chappe et Gessalin to be sold by Rédélé as the "Alpine". Renault backed the new company, and numbered the car "106". With the release of the A106 in 1955 the Alpine company was officially born.<ref name="as-alpine106">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1960, just as production of the A106 ended, Chappe et Gessalin moved their operations to the commune of Brie-Comte-Robert, still near Paris.<ref name="amicale1"/>

Chappe et Gessalin continued to build the A106 coupé and the subsequent A106 cabriolet, even though the cabriolet was styled by Michelotti. After 251 copies were built, the A106 was succeeded by the A108 and again, Chappe et Gessalin built the coupé, as well as a new 2+2. This time, though, Alpine opted to build the cabriolet version themselves. Rédélé had set up a new company named RDL to bring bodywork in-house with Alpine.<ref name="rdl">Template:Cite web</ref> Eventually the A108 was in turn replaced by the A110, but this time Chappe et Gessalin would only be doing bodywork, upholstery and paintwork for the A110 GT4 2+2.<ref name="boitierrougegt4">Template:Cite web</ref> Final assembly was done at the Alpine works in Dieppe, although the car carried CG badges on its flanks.<ref name="orangegt4">Template:Cite web</ref>

Automobiles CG

File:Emblem CG.JPG

CG emblem

In the early 1960s, the staff at Chappe et Gessalin had grown to around 40 people.<ref name="echappementc1"/>

While it continued working with a variety of car builders, demand from one of its largest customers, Alpine, was diminishing as Alpine's associated bodyworks, RDL, took over production of most Alpine models.

In 1964 management at Chappe et Gessalin began planning to become an automobile manufacturer in their own right. The new venture would be known as Automobiles CG ("CG" for Chappe et Gessalin). While there were already the skills in-house to do the styling and mechanical design of an entire car as well as produce the bodywork and chassis, they would need to source engines, transmissions, suspension parts, brakes and associated trim.<ref name="gazoline199">Template:Cite web</ref>

With Renault committed to Alpine and with Peugeot and Citroën (with Panhard) declining to participate, Automobiles CG turned to the Simca company and their pool of production mechanical components to supply its needs.<ref name="as-cg"/><ref name="gtfrance">Template:Cite web</ref> Parts for the first CG came from a wrecked 1000 provided by Simca dealer Roger Civet.<ref name="gazoline199"/>

The design of the first CG model began in 1965, and the car debuted at the 1966 Salon de l'Auto in Paris. Called the 1000 Spider, it was a small rear-engined convertible with a 2+2 fiberglass body that used powertrain and suspension components from the Simca 1000.<ref name="amicale2"/><ref name="menin">Template:Cite web</ref>

Since Jean Gessalin had designed what would become the very first Alpine, it was no surprise that the first CG bore a strong resemblance to its cousin from Dieppe, right down to the exposed hinges on the car.

The car received positive reviews for its appearance and the high level of fit and finish, but drivers were unimpressed by the Template:Convert produced by the Template:Cvt engine and the high price.

CG later offered a high-performance version of the same engine that had been tuned by Michel Tapie from Rodez with power boosted by 50 percent to Template:Convert.<ref name="breve"/>

Different variations of the original 1000 were produced over its three-year lifespan.

The 1000 Spider was replaced by the CG 1200S in 1968. The engine was now the same as that found in the Simca 1200S, and power was double that of the original 1000. It is during the time that the 1200S was being built that CG began to collaborate with Chrysler Europe (via the Simca division in France) in sportscar racing and rallying.<ref name="amicale6">Template:Cite web Template:Dead link</ref>

In 1972 the third and final major CG model entered production, the CG 1300. Power was now provided by the same engine found in the Simca 1000 Rallye 2. This model also received many upgrades to its body and trim.

The sign of the Gallic Cockerel

Even though the first CG cars debuted in 1966, it was not until 1970 that an official emblem was designed for them. The image was based on the "Coq Gaulois" (the Gallic Cockerel). While "Coq Gaulois" and "Chappe et Gessalin" shared a common monogram, the image was also related to the company's address in Brie-Comte-Robert, which was on the "Rue du Coq Gaulois".<ref name="velocetoday">Template:Cite web</ref>

The designer of the emblem was Albert Uderzo, who is primarily known as the artist responsible for the Astérix comic series.<ref name="amicale3">Template:Cite web</ref>

CG Cars

CG 1000 (1966 - 1969, type A1000)

File:CG A1000 001.jpg

Spider CG 1000

The CG 1000 Spyder was unveiled at the 1966 Salon de l'Auto in Paris. The compact convertible had a fiberglass body mounted on a steel chassis with a deep "U" centre backbone and tube-and-sheetmetal outriggers. The chassis was designed by CG. Power came from a 944 cc inline 4-cylinder Simca Poissy engine. This motor had a cross-flow aluminum cylinder head and a cast-iron block with 5 main bearings. It was mounted in the rear of the car, canted over at 15 degrees from vertical and drove the wheels through a 4-speed transaxle that used Porsche-style synchronizers.<ref name="gtfrance"/> The radiator was mounted at the rear beside the engine. Steering was worm-and-roller by Gemmer. Front suspension was by a lower transverse leaf spring and upper A-arms while at the rear were swing-axles with semi-trailing arms and coil springs. Brakes were disks on all four wheels, courtesy of the Simca 1000 Bertone coupé. The car, weighing 640 kg, was attractive and displayed a very high quality of finish. Less well received was the vague steering and the meagre power from the stock engine. The price of the Spider was 16,990 francs.

One year after the release of the 1000 Spider a new, lower-price model debuted; the 1000 Sport. The price for this model was down to 14,990 francs. While the engine was the same 944 cc unit, it had been modified by engine tuner Michel Tapie from Rodez and power had been boosted by 50 percent to Template:Convert.<ref name="breve"/> To bring the price down from that of the 1000 Spider, the roll-up glass windows were replaced by plastic sliders, the bumpers and hubcaps were removed, the dashboard was painted rather than covered and the seats were simple fibreglass tubs, changes which also brought the weight down to 600 kg. The 1000 Sport came with a removable hardtop.

In 1968 the 1000 Spider and 1000 Sport disappeared from the lineup, and two new cars were introduced, one of which was the CG 1000S. Trim on the 1000S was similar to the original 1000 Spider, but the engine displaced Template:Cvt and produced Template:Cvt. The 'S' was available as either a full coupé (non-removable) or convertible.

Dimensions: Template:Cvt long, Template:Cvt wide, Template:Cvt high, Template:Cvt wheelbase. Front track was Template:Cvt, rear track was Template:Cvt.

CG 1200 S (1968 - 1972, type B1200) and 548

File:Chappe Gessalin 1972.JPG

Coupé CG 1200 S

The other new model released in 1968 was the CG 1200S. This model was offered as a coupé or a convertible, although only 33 soft-tops were built by the factory. By upgrading to the engine from the Simca 1200 S coupé, CG was finally able to offer a sports car with performance comparable to the Alpine A110. With the Template:Cvt engine power output was Template:Cvt, twice that of the original 1000 Spider.

Brakes were disks all around but were now activated by a servo-assisted dual-circuit system. Rack-and-pinion steering replaced the old Gemmer system and anti-roll bars were added front and rear. There was also a new rear axle with dual movable joints as found on the B-series Simcas, allowing for negative camber setup. The rear end now also had two shock-absorbers per side. The radiator was moved to the front of the car, which now had an opening to admit cooling air. Weight was 660 kg

Dimensions: Template:Cvt long, Template:Cvt wide, Template:Cvt high, Template:Cvt wheelbase. Front track was Template:Cvt, rear track was Template:Cvt.

A special model intended for racing was developed out of the 1200S. This CG, called the 548, was a lightweight special, the name of the car also being its weight in kilograms.

To achieve this light weight many changes were made to the car. The lateral chassis beams were recessed into the main chassis and some lower-chassis details were restructured. The steel floor was replaced with aluminum and the engine and transaxle were mounted rigidly to two ties on the chassis, allowing the rear chassis structure to be removed completely, replaced only by a lateral rod tying the two sides of the chassis together. The bodywork was thinner than normal, all glass was replaced with acrylic or plexiglass deflectors, the bumperettes were removed and the gas filler neck was relocated. The air intake at the front was larger than on the 1200S, and a large mesh opening in the rear allowed engine heat to escape. The rear deck now ended in a full-width spoiler.

The 548 was available with an optional Constantin supercharger that brought power output up to Template:Cvt.<ref name="amicale5">Template:Cite web</ref>

CG 1300 (1972 - 1974, type C1300)

File:CG C1300.jpg

CG 1300

In 1972, the last regular GC road car, the CG 1300, was released. Once again, displacement had grown and the car now had the Template:Cvt engine from the Simca Rallye 2. Power was initially Template:Cvt and torque was up to 80 ft-lbs. The car, only available as a coupé, had a new lower front valance with a spoiler and an even larger air intake for the radiator. Front indicator lamps were from a later model Simca 1000 and were mounted under the headlamps. From the doors back the rear quarter-panels had been reshaped and the rear quarter windows had also been changed. The tail of the car had been shortened by Template:Convert. Taillights were rectangular units from the Simca 1100 and new cast bumperettes were used.

The 1300 would only be in production for one and one-half years, from 1972 to 1974.

Dimensions are: Template:Cvt long, Template:Cvt wide, Template:Cvt high, Template:Cvt wheelbase. Front track was Template:Cvt, rear track was Template:Cvt.

Model comparison

	CG type A1000 (fewer than 30 units)			CG type B1200 (about 280 units)			CG type C1300 (95 units)
	Spider 1000	Sport 1000	Sport 1000/1000 S	Coupé and Spider 1200 S	Coupé and Spider 1200 S 1970 model	Coupé "548"	Coupé 1300	Coupé 1300 95 hp
Displacement	944 cc	944 cc	1118 cc	1204 cc	1204 cc	1204 cc	1294 cc	1294 cc
Bore × stroke (mm)	68 × 65	68 × 65	74 × 65	74 × 70	74 × 70	74 × 70	76.7 × 70	76.7 × 70
Power	Template:Cvt at 5400 rpm	Template:Cvt at 5400 rpm	Template:Cvt at 5600 rpm	Template:Cvt at 6000 rpm	Template:Cvt at 6200 rpm	Template:Cvt at 6200 rpm	Template:Cvt at 6000 rpm	Template:Cvt at 6400 rpm
Torque	Template:Cvt at 3400 rpm	Template:Cvt at 3400 rpm	Template:Cvt at 3600 rpm	Template:Cvt at 4500 rpm	Template:Cvt at 4500 rpm	-	Template:Cvt at 4400 rpm	Template:Cvt at 4560 rpm
Weight	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt
Top speed	-	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	-	Template:Convert	Template:Convert
Standing Kilometre	-	37.0 s	35.6 s	31.5 s	31.3 s	27.0 s	31.5 s	30.5 s
Price (year)	16 900 F (1967)	14 990 F (1967)	18 990 F (1968)	21 480/21 980 F (1968)	22 726/23 255 F (1970)	35 000 F (1971)	27 500 F (1973)	30 232 F (1973)

The end of the road

The GC 1300 would be the last car produced at Chappe et Gessalin. In 1964 Matra had acquired the assets of the René-Bonnet company, and by 1970 Matra themselves were 50% owned by Chrysler.<ref name="allparmatra">Template:Cite web</ref> When Simca selected Matra's Bagheera as the successor to the Bertone-designed Simca 1200S this eclipsed any hopes CG may have had to raise their own profile within Simca.

In 1973 the oil crisis struck. In France, Prime Minister Pierre Messmer announced national speed-limits and, most devastatingly, a one-year ban on motor-racing.<ref name="nyt1973">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="lalsace">Template:Cite web</ref>

The last CG 1300s were delivered in the spring of 1974, after which the small company of Brie-Comte-Robert closed its doors permanently.

Following the closure of the CG plant, Jean-Michel Ribot-Bruno's Coulimmiers-based Geriplast company took over the after-sales service and repair of the CG bodywork. The CG construction equipment and molds were transferred to GERIPLAST at the end of 1974. Geriplast would use these to itself become a manufacturer of GERIPLAST barquettes (modified CG spiders) and then GERI barquettes and single-seaters, developed jointly with Michel Bonenfant.<ref name="forum1">Template:Cite web</ref> <ref name="geriamicale">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2016 there was a 50th anniversary retrospective of CG held at the Cite de l'Automobile.<ref name="lalsace"/>

CG in competition

While CGs had been raced prior to its release, the lightweight 548 was the first CG built expressly for motor racing.<ref name="racingsports">Template:Cite web</ref>

In April 1969 Henri Chemin came to Chrysler, rejoining his former boss from Ford France, William Reiber. Chemin was appointed head of the competition department and given three objectives:

Start winning races, including rallies, as soon as possible
Rebuild the image of Simca's brand with young drivers
Add to Matra's already impressive list of victories

Chemin campaigned a 1200XS coupé with the new 1812 cc OHC Simca Type 180 engine in a series of rallyes, but the car could not overcome the Alpines.<ref name="simca-rallye">Template:Cite web</ref> Towards the end of the year CG agreed to collaborate with the Simca division of Chrysler Europe in a new venture to be called Simca-CG. Simca-CG would go racing with a jointly-developed car to be called the Simca-CG Proto MC.

Although some histories say that the Proto MC's chassis was designed by Matra, there is little concrete evidence for the company's direct involvement. An indirect connection to Matra was established when, through the influence of Simca, Matra engineer Bernard Boyer was assigned to the development team.<ref name="rarefrenchcg"/> Boyer was also a former employee of Chappe et Gessalin and son-in-law of Albert Chappe.

The Simca-CG Proto MC was a mid-engined (MC standing for "Moteur Centrale") two-seater car with a monocoque-and-tubular hybrid chassis. The engine was the Chrysler/Simca Type 180 that had been used in the 1200XS coupés. Early cars made do with the 1812 cc engine but later cars would have 2156 cc, 2207 cc and 2310 cc versions of the Type 180 motor. The transaxle came from a Porsche 914.

Bodywork for the first cars was derived from the existing molds for the CG 1200S and 548 models. Later spiders would have as much as Template:Cvt cut from their length, and one car was built with a truncated cabin that gave it the appearance of a small truck.

The project was launched in February 1970, design work was completed by the end of May and the car was built and track testing was starting by the end of July.

Its first race was on August 8, 1970 at Mont-Dore, and the car's first Championship win was at the 1970 Critérium des Cévennes, with Gérard Larrousse driving.<ref name="amicale1"/>

For the 1972 season Simca brought in engine specialists JRD, who increased the displacement and made other modifications to increase the power output and deal with reliability issues arising from the greater stresses.

Over the course of three seasons the MC posted victories in 32 out of 49 races entered.<ref name="automobilerevue"/><ref name="amicale7">Template:Cite web</ref>

Drivers were Bernard Fiorentino, Gérard Larrousse, Michel Saliba and Philippe Renaudât.

In April 1973, Simca Chrysler dissolved the competition department, leaving only Matra Sports to continue in Sports-Prototypes racing.

Many (non-MC) CGs continued to be active in historic racing. Several of these cars were described as "CG 1600s", but these appear to have been custom engine swaps rather than factory originals.

In 2012, with the approval of Jean Gessalin and support from Bernard Chappe, Didier Malga launched "CG Sport", an attempt to revive the brand as a competition group.<ref name="petites-observations">Template:Cite web</ref>

References

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