Guido Verschoor.
Guido has a deep passion for drawing Chapron Designed cars, a hobby he developed over many decades. He has hand-drawn countless models in this time, evolving his craft with modern digital tools. His meticulous work is a testament to his dedication to capturing the history of Chapron Carrossierie.
Guido’s Book.
Guido’s latest book is a collection of his drawings, featuring thousands of Chapron designed car models.
This publication condenses his vast archive into a detailed and visually captivating representation, worthy of a place in any enthusiast’s collection.
Henri Chapron
He is a Carrosserie, or coachbuilder who has produced some of the most beautiful and exquisite cars. Originally located in Neuilly, France in 1919, Henri Chapron moved to Levallois-Perret, Seine in 1927 and worked there until his retirement in 1986. After the introduction of the Citroën DS in 1955, Citroën wanted to introduce a small number of DS19 Cabriolets.
Henri Chapron understood, based on its appearance, that the DS could offer him a variety of interesting models. To entice a significant part of the Citroën clientèle, he proposed several designs, on the basis of the saloon version of the DS 19, to develop luxury cars jointly with Citroën.
History
Chapron hand-built a small number of cars based on Citroën’s mass-produced cars, creating a prestigious range of cars for the elite. In October 1958, on Chapron’s stand at the motor show, a strange DS makes its appearance: A cabriolet christened the Croisette, which seated four.
As a result of the motor show, Henri Chapron created a second version of the DS, the LeParis, whose clean lines would spark the creation of many more models from the workshops of the rue Aristide-Briand.
In 1959, Henri Chapron built a prototype cabriolet 2 + 2 based on the Citroën DS, a lighter version of the Croisette. As a result of this proposed by the coachbuilder, Pierre Bercot, director general of Citroën, decided to integrate the cabriolet DS into the catalogue range from 1960. Chapron would provide the actual manufacture of the cabriolets.
So started a great working relationship with Citroën and Henri Chapron. Chapron went on to create special DS saloon models called “Prestige” which included full leather, a bar, a chauffeur window and more. Other models include the LeDandy, Palm Beach, Majesty, LeMan, Lorraine, Opera, Mylord, and the special Landaulet models for the SM and CX. Chapron also created the Presidentialle models as well.