During the war Bionier developed an interest in
aerodynamics. Having observed the shapes and movements of birds and
fish he built scale models of a streamlined 7-passenger car.
Following the introduction of the Dyna, Bionier built a concept car to
explore how aerodynamics could be applied to a full-sized vehicle. This
car was the Panhard Dynavia.
Built on the Dyna chassis and powered by Panhard's 610 cc two-cylinder
boxer engine, the engine drove the front wheels through a four-speed
manual transmission. Suspension was independent on all four wheels and
steering was by rack-and-pinion. Drum brakes were fitted front and rear.
The 2-door bodywork was made of Duralinox, an aluminium/magnesium
alloy. The Dynavia had a drag coefficient of just 0.26.
At 650 kg the Dynavia was heavier than the equivalent Dyna but had
a higher top speed - 131 km/hr on only 28 bhp thanks to its superior
aerodynamics.
The Dynavia was shown at the 1948 Paris Auto Salon. Two cars were built
and one was permanently loaned to the Musée National de l'Automobile in
Mulhouse.
The second car was provided to a Panhard dealer in Grenoble and then
sold to a private individual in Switzerland but was involved in a crash
and was scrapped.
The benefits of its aerodynamic shape encouraged Paul Panhard to give
Bionier approval to design an aerodynamic body for the forthcoming
Panhard Dyna Z.
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