GTP Cool Wall: Hispano-Suiza H6C "Xenia"

  • Thread starter BKGlover
  • 27 comments
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Hispano-Suiza H6C "Xenia"


  • Total voters
    73
  • Poll closed .
6,094
United States
Texas
Hispano-Suiza H6C "Xenia" nominated by Leonidae

38-Hispano-Xenia-Dubonnet-DV-12-PBC_01.jpg


Major Note: Er...as of 6:45 PM, I have found out somethings that are fairly interesting. First, I didn't know that Hispanos and Rolls of the time were sold as rolling chassis only, which does explain somewhat why there were so many different Coachbuilders at the time. The second pertains to this car directly. Andre Dubonnet, a French WWI ace who also raced Hispanos and Bugattis, used an H6C chassis to show off his suspension design, of which GM, Fiat, and others bought. Normally, this would make it a modified, and therefore not eligible, HOWEVER it has made it to nomination, and I think we could call this a prototype instead(read: I'm calling this a prototype. Don't like, vote SU. You'll see why.)

Stuff that Matters:
Status: Prototype/Coachbuild
Coachbuilder: Jacques Saoutchik
Basis: H6C Chassis No. 103
Production: 1 of 1 Produced
Engine: 7.9L Aluminum OHC Inline-6 (160 BHP At 3,050 RPM)
Transmission: 4-Speed Manual Gearbox
Special Note(H6): 4-Wheel Servo-Assisted Drum Brakes
Special Note(Xenia):Solid Front Axle, Live Rear Axle With Four-Wheel Independent “Hyperflex” (Coil Spring) Suspension

My take: Here's why it's still getting a poll at all, then a Sub Zero from me. The engine is, OHC aside, half of an aircraft V12. It has a mechanically-enhanced braking system. Then, there's the body. The only concept cars I see NOW that give this any challenge are incredibly scarce, most made by the French coincidentally. By contrast, here's the traditional H6...

Hispano-Suiza_1924_H6B_Million-Guiet_Dual-Cowl_Ph%C3%A6ton.jpg


...So yeah, that's why I went ahead. Also, here's a top-down with the doors open.

Saoutchik_Hispano-Suiza_H6C_Dubonnet_Xenia_Streamliner_1938_16.jpg


ConceptCarz.com
Supercars.Net
Wikipedia: H6

Nomination Thread
 
Look at it.. Just look at it. And the motor.. From a fighterplane, without making the car undriveable. Kelvins Ice Box.


Here's Jay Leno's Garage episode about it. Yes, the car is driven..
 
Hmm... It's not incredibly attractive (the bubble dome kind of ruins what is otherwise a gorgeous shape), like a Jaguar D-Type or a Porsche 917, but it still screams at you in the same way those cars do. I like it, but I don't think it's cool.

Also, it's called Xenia.
 
Loved it until the bubble dome. Meh.

I'm not a fan of the bubble dome either, plus I don't think the car itself it's particularly pretty. Not to mention I'd never heard of the thing before seeing the nomination a few weeks back.

Interesting engine though. But I have no strong feelings about it one way or the other.
 
Doesn't really do anything for me this.

Styling looks ok, but it's not a thing of beauty. The V12 engine sounds cool but it doesn't improve anything. A solid Meh from me.
 
I'll give it a solid Cool. It looks very good but it's missing the sparkle to make it sub-zero. Porbably because I wasn't born in 1954.
 
Modern looking for it's time, it's a piece of automotive sculpture. But that's the problem. It's appeal comes from how it looks. A car from 1938 is going to be dreadful to drive, especially in modern traffic, all the enjoyment comes from the looks you'd get from other road users and pedestrians you pass. You'd get the exact same effect from trailering it behind something more modern and comfortable. Meh.
 
Sub zero.

You could pull the Queen with that name.

This... basically... this.

It doesn't matter what the car drives like today. Hell. It doesn't even matter what it drove like back in the day.

This car is frosty. The only way it could be cooler is if it were this:

800px-HS_1924_Tulipwood_sx.jpg


Which it basically is... :lol:
 
I keep forgetting that the black sail behind the first image is not an actual part of the car...

But, this thing is simply gorgeous. Sub-Zero.
 
Results Time:

As much as I would like to park this along side the Miura myself, it is a vote. In the case of the Hispano-Suiza H6C "Xenia" Prototype, the voting members of GTPlanet have decreed it to be Sub Zero, and no more.
 
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