What is this?

It seems Michelin were producing pneumatic tyres for railway carriages - as well as the cars themselves - in the 1930s and this was an early example for experimentation / prototype purposes (some Paris metro lines run on pneumatic tyres even today).

And one still running in Madagascar - sorry no further information - but I found this at catawiki so maybe your 1/43 is Marklin ?

This item is no longer available, but there is much more to discover
Märklin H0 - 3123 - Railcar - Railcar "Minerva Michelin" - Private railroad
https://www.catawiki.com/nl/c/387-modeltreinen

BINGO !

Definitely something different. Thanks for pictures.

Cool looking vehicle! Excellent research work Charles -  

Voila!  https://www.ebay.com/itm/196557158026

and this one - I hate it when the cost of postage >> cost of item!  https://www.ebay.com/itm/334936938360

@karl what excellent finds!  It's worth potential buyers noting that it is 1/87 HO

@charles-rockett Merci, vous avez raison, Monsieur!

I think Randy's ebay item was 'mis-scaled'! 😟 

@karl Perhaps.  Some people, (relatives selling a collection?) don't fully grasp scale.  I once bought on e-bay four 1/43 U.S. veteran models cars; including a much sought-after Duryea. And was desolate when a tiny box of HO 1/87 arrived! Still, we're all now well-up on rubber tyre-d trains!

@charles-rockett Good catch! Now I don’t feel so bad about losing out or paying more.