The Razor Blade: phenomenon or death trap?

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We bumped into this great curiosity on the online treasure trove known as the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and were smitten straight away. As so often, information was scarce, with the only description being a Voiture Panhard Profilée, as seen during the 1926 Paris Motor Show.

It didn’t take much digging to find that this Panhard & Levassor was in fact a record car, known as Lame de Rasoir or Razor Blade—a name that suits it perfectly.

And it was an extraordinarily sharp design in more ways than one. The driving position was highly unusual to begin with: the driver was more lying down than sitting in this single-seater. With his head resting on a small cushion, much of the view ahead was blocked by the bodywork. Looking forward must have required occasionally throwing oneself to the side. The steering wheel was another remarkable feature—a large, spokeless wheel encircling the driver at mid-body height.

The car’s striking body, made of polished aluminium and mahogany wood, was designed by engineers Louis Bionier and Marius Breton, and built to measure for Breton himself, who also served as its works driver. He achieved a fastest lap of 190.324 km/h at Montlhéry, though that was with the slightly less sensational two-litre variant—not yet the 1.5-litre Razor Blade-shaped version. The latter was said to be designed to break the 240 km/h record, but it fell just short. In October 1926, it was officially timed over several runs, covering five miles at an average speed of 223 km/h. Only days later, however, Breton crashed at high speed, killing himself instantly at the age of 34. The road in Issy-les-Moulineaux where the accident happened still bears his name.

Interestingly, historians are still uncertain about the car’s suspension. Also worth noting: it had no brakes on its wheels, for reasons of aerodynamics and weight saving. A single drum brake was fitted only to the transmission—or so it is believed.

Words: Jeroen Booij
Pictures: Bibliothèque Nationale de France

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