By 1961, René Bonnet had parted ways with Charles Deutsche and launched his own line of Renault-based fiberglass sports cars. The first car out of his own factory was a redesign of the two-seat DB LeMans roadster, now powered with a Dauphine engine. He called it the Missile, a reference to his fascination with his financial partner Matra, which made – among other things – munitions. The Missile utilized Renault R4 underpinnings, as did the LeMans, but the Missile was slightly smaller in all dimensions than its predecessor. Unlike the Djet – the first mid-engined car – the Missile carried its engine in its nose. Fewer than 300 copies were made, all by hand and rather slowly. Production ceased in 1964. Here on AutoScout24 is a 1963 René Bonnet Missile, completely restored, living in its homeland in Clermont-Ferrand, France. The asking price is € 22,000. Kyle K. turned in this oh-so-French tip – thanks Kyle!
Missiles were a hard sell. The hefty price tag was not justified by performance only slightly better than the cheaper MG Midget. Reliability issues plagued early production cars. Creature comforts were minimal. This car has seen substantial restoration, including a new 1980s R4 chassis, a color change from grey to red, and a reworked suspension. The soft top and top bows are present. (A hard top was an option.) The seller indicates that the electrical accessories work as they should. A few emblems are not installed but are apparently included with the sale. The seller says the original wheels have gone missing; the installed Gotti’s will just have to do.
The seller pegs this as a 1093 cc engine, but that is wrong. It may be a rare Gordini engine (note the prominent “G” embossed into the valve cover) from the Dauphine 1093, which was a race-homologated iteration of the ordinary sedan. If so, it’s an 845 cc in-line four-cylinder making about 50 hp coupled with the 1093’s four-speed transmission. The Dauphine was a rear-engined, rear-wheel drive car; this motor is turned backward to drive the front wheels through its gearbox (c’est français!), sending the exhaust headers in all different directions. The tight fit necessitated worm and gear steering, a regression from the Dauphine’s rack and pinion. Notably, the car received R8 front disc brakes. The seller assures us that the engine was rebuilt during the restoration and it does turn; the carburetor was replaced but the original was saved. The brakes work, too, but we don’t know if the car has been driven lately.
,The underside is dry and rust-free; this is just one of several undercarriage photos supplied. The seller does not mention how long ago this restoration was completed but to all appearances, it is still show-quality – at least topside.
The Missile is a symphony of Renault, Gordini, and Bonnet in one car, while at the same time managing to look remarkably like one of its contemporaries, the Daimler SP250, both from the front and the rear. Still, if you hanker to be the owner of a truly rare car for a less-than-outrageous price, here it is. All you have to do is import it from France!
My 2 year-old grandson can count to 6…
Really does look like 6 exhaust header pipes, and “..sending the exhaust headers in all different directions…” isn’t much help.
Pipes second in from each end are the intake manifold tubes. Only 4 spark plug wires. 50 hp doesn’t get you very far fast. Rare for sure.
Siamese intake ports like many British engines and Crosley, 2 intake ports and 4 exhaust.
ccrvtt:
Good for him. Maybe he can re-engineer this Gordini 845 cc four-cylinder.
https://racecarsdirect.com/Advert/Details/130037/renault-dauphine-gordini-1961
Or this one.
https://bringatrailer.com/2014/07/27/french-projectile-1963-rene-bonnet-missile/
Or maybe you should do your own research and find out more about this car.
The picture doesn’t show it clearly but pipes #2 and #5 are intakes.
This is quite the weird manifold configuration. You can also count the 4 spark plug wires to get a cylinder count.
Clearly shows the carb plumbed to two of the six pipes shown.
My first car in 1969 was a Renault Dauphine and while the engine was pretty spunky, I always wished it had a Gordini engine in it. Crossflow heads weren’t around back in the day for many cars. So, as those before me have said, inlet for the carb placement are pipes 2 and 5. Anyway, I faintly remember hearing about these. Interesting vehicle, to be sure.
Then there’s the Renault 8 Gordini, a bit more conventional. https://rememberroad.com/where/france/renault-8-gordini-semi-rhapsody-in-blue/
My Fiat 850 Spyder had a stranger appearance, with what looks like a single intake with a four pipe exhaust. In that case, the downdraft two-barrel Weber carburetor sat on top of the head off to one side, but emptied into a plenum inside the head. You could see the four valve stems when you pulled the carb.
Michelle,
Here’s our first disagreement : ” managing to look remarkably like one of its contemporaries, the Daimler SP250″. Slightly from the back but otherwise, no way. I like the looks of this car. It’s alright!
When I got out of the army, I took my solid roll of $s to riverside imports(?). I drove a low mileage, late model Spridget, a Porch 356, Daimler SP250, Alfa Giulia 1600, maybe another car all about the same price then (Really different values now!). I really liked the little hemi but I walked around it 3 times looking and said no way could I live with something this ugly.
I left my Austin there and drove away in the Alfa.
Good choice.
I was gonna say the front end looks more like a Caravelle.
Oh, outstanding choice! The Giulia 1600 is a splendid car.
Very unusual and quite hidtoric as the seed of Matra whose cars went on to win Le Mans and the F1 World Championship in late 60s/early 70s.
The FWD Citroens 1934 onwards have similar engine/box layout. I wonder about the use of R4 platform, that being a unitary body, but maybe Bonnet just cut the body off a roller, as Abarth did with his coupès.
As the French voined the yerm ” jolie-laide”, I find this quirky and interesting. The Daimler SP250 is just plain “laide”….
Look closer genius