Day of construction:                  18.09.1958
Sold:                                             1960 USA
VIN:                                              *1075*

The technology:
2-cylinder boxer engine - air-cooled - based on PANHARD
Desmodromic valve control
4-speed gearbox
Front wheel dricve
Aluminium brake drums in front & brear
Rims 4,5 x 15 mit 155 SR 15
Acrylic roof window - so called: Vistadome

D.B
Charles DEUTSCH & René BONNET

designed and built sports and racing cars in Paris from 1932 to 1962. In total, just over 1,000 cars were built in 30 years. The factory had 40 to 50 employees. Only GT vehicles, barchettas and monoposti were built.

The D.B HBR5 Coach was D.B.'s most successful vehicle.
The car was built from 1953 to 1961 in a total of 429 units.
The coupe had a central tubular frame with a plastic body, a sporty interior and large JAEGER instruments. The engine, gearbox and drive were based on PANHARD technology. The total weight was an incredible 570 kg!
The HBR5 was the first French series coupe after World War II, not the Alpine! Extremely popular and sought after in France, this car remained an exotic in the rest of Europe. D.B exported numerous HBR5s to the USA. The coupé was often used in racing events there. However, the D.B HBR5 achieved her greatest racing successes in France, where she won her class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Tour Auto, etc. for several years in a row.

The history:

This vehicle was completed in the factory on May 18, 1958 and exported to the USA. It was one of two D.B's show cars at the New York Motor Show in 1960. The car was sold, not registered and then used in various races in the USA. Finally, no longer roadworthy, she came into the possession of Jim P. Bandy. Bandy is a D.B specialist, connoisseur and collector from West Virginia who maintained personal contact with Charles Deutsch and René Bonnet. He owned a total of eight D.B HBR5s.

Bandy sold this D.B in 2010 to a PANHARD specialist in Switzerland who restored it frame-off. The D.B was registered in Switzerland for a short time under the registration number VD 190088. We have been lucky to purchase the car in 2013.