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Topic starter
03/03/2026 9:41 pm
The 1932 Helicron N°1 “Marcel Leyat” is one of the strangest one-off road vehicles ever built. It was a lightweight French experimental car propelled not by driven wheels, but by a front-mounted aircraft-style propeller. Built on a reversed Rosengart chassis, it pairs that propeller concept with other unconventional choices (notably rear-wheel steering and effectively no traditional transmission layout), making it feel more like “aviation thinking applied to a car” than a conventional automobile.
After being put away by its original owner in the late 1930s, the Helicron sat forgotten until a barn discovery in France in 2000, followed by a comprehensive rebuild that retained many original mechanical components. Today it’s preserved as a celebrated curiosity of interwar experimentation and is displayed by the Lane Motor Museum. To cap it off for collectors, model maker franstyle has announced a limited-production 1:43 release this summer in blue (N°1) and red (N°2), each capped at an edition limit of 250.
This topic was modified 2 months ago by Randy Rusk
03/03/2026 10:31 pm
I assume Randy will buy the model. It is definitely unique.
Ed Davis
Inverness, Illinois, USA
04/03/2026 11:06 am
Thank you, Randy, for showing me yet another automobile I have never seen before.
Ed Davis and Christopher Moroni reacted
04/03/2026 12:54 pm
"This was a lightweight French experimental car propelled not by driven wheels, but by a front-mounted aircraft-style propeller and notably rear-wheel steering. Effectively, there's no traditional transmission."
A wild & inventive driveline but all at the expense of safety - including driver vision. OTOH, neither the driver nor the car will ever overheat. These will be great little unique, and historically accurate 1/43 replicas. Nice post Randy - I KNOW these contraptions are must haves for you. 😀
04/03/2026 2:39 pm
I'm sure Franstyle will do a bang-up job of the '32. Here is the 1921 Leyat Hélica by Rio for comparison.
The propeller motor car built in 1921 by Marcel Leyat in Paris did not lack originality or a modern solution for the times. The monocoque body rested on a fixed front wheel assembly, whilst the steering was effected on the rear wheels by means of a steel cable. The main body was built of a reinforced plywood construction which allowed two passengers to sit one behind the other with a small baggage compartment behind the second passenger. The vehicle was driven by an 8 HP twin cylinder horizontal motor, driving a propeller surrounded by a steel protection shield. The front suspension consisted of a cantilever system and the rear end on two spring suspensions. The braking system was on the front spoked wheels. The weight of the vehicle was 250 kilos and its maximum speed was 70 km per hour. The type of suspension used made possible a more comfortable journey than anything known at the time. This great inventor, Marcel Leyat, went on to dedicate himself to the construction of aircraft.
04/03/2026 9:55 pm
I can't wait for this one! Another Leyat at the Lane ...
and another Rio, just for comparison!
This post was modified 2 months ago 2 times by Karl Schnelle
05/03/2026 11:55 am
I may want one Randy, for my Lane-in-1:43 subcollection. During a previous Rally For The Lane, museum staff fired up one of these (Helicron I think) so we could all feel the breeze (but not fast enough for forward movement). Here's a pic I took a few years ago.
