Following up on the acclaimed history of D.B. at Sebring,
Philippe Defechereux tells us what became of the French Legends.
By Philippe Defechereux Copyright 2008
What Happened to Deutsch-Bonnet ?
Early in 1962, a partnership that had lasted over twenty years and won so many laurels came apart. Charles Deutsch found out that in December of 1961, René Bonnet had signed a secret agreement to drive for Renault; he would lead a Renault-backed team at the 1962 Le Mans 24-Hours; the cars would be called “René Bonnets.†When Charles Deutsch made Panhard aware of that, they were incensed. Quickly, they hired the betrayed engineer to put together a team of five cars, to be called “C.D. Panhards.†The clear goal was to beat Equipe René Bonnet at Le Mans that very year. The Deutsch-Bonnet company, which from the earliest days had been founded on the basis of verbal agreements and handshakes, was effectively no more. As footnote, the C.D. Panhards beat the René Bonnets fair and square at the 1962 Le Mans race, winning both the Index of Performance and the 850cc class.