Gordini Double Shaft Djet engine

AlexB

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I have to thank, and blame, @Russell Hall for the hours I've spent since his Gagarin Djet post.

I just love cutaway drawings and this Djet 1962/63 Gordini Double Shaft engine drawing is a beauty.
Pic is taken from Club René Bonnet Matra Sports-Djet website so may be subject to copyright considering the RBMS on the sump.

In the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans the Djet car #46 with the 996cc Gordini double shaft motor lost 4th gear at 7:30am and spent the next 8 hours doing 8000rpm in third gear down Les Hunaudières (Mulsanne straight) to still finish with an average speed of 142 km/h, awesome stuff......



RBMS_Djet_Rene_Bonnet_Moteur-Gordini_double-arbre.jpg
 
The competition history of the Djet and the Gordini twin cam by Gerard Scherer is an awesome read that will enthrall you for hour upon hour.

Code:
translated link starts on Page 1 of 6, click on Page 2, 3 etc and they'll translate on the fly.
https://djet--rbms-fr.translate.goog/djet/histoire-djet-competition-debut/?_x_tr_sch=http&_x_tr_sl=fr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc

Club René Bonnet Matra Sports Homepage
http://djet-rbms.fr/

translated homepage link
https://djet--rbms-fr.translate.goog/?_x_tr_sl=fr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_sch=http

More Djet history
https://www.classiccourses.fr/magazine/personnalites/djet-rene-bonnet-de-la-piste-a-la-route/

translated link
https://www-classiccourses-fr.translate.goog/magazine/personnalites/djet-rene-bonnet-de-la-piste-a-la-route/?_x_tr_sl=fr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB
 
I have to thank, and blame, @Russell Hall for the hours I've spent since his Gagarin Djet post.

I just love cutaway drawings and this Djet 1962/63 Gordini Double Shaft engine drawing is a beauty.
Pic is taken from Club René Bonnet Matra Sports-Djet website so may be subject to copyright considering the RBMS on the sump.

In the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans the Djet car #46 with the 996cc Gordini double shaft motor lost 4th gear at 7:30am and spent the next 8 hours doing 8000rpm in third gear down Les Hunaudières (Mulsanne straight) to still finish with an average speed of 142 km/h, awesome stuff......



View attachment 139259
Lovely. I agree with you. Such a superb mix of engineering drawing and art. Thanks for this. :)
 
And, concerning the regular pushrod Gordini hemi, a curious feature of its history is that (as I understand things) its first use was not in the R8G but in the CRB Djet (in 85bhp single downdraft carburettor form).

cheers! Peter
 
And, concerning the regular pushrod Gordini hemi, a curious feature of its history is that (as I understand things) its first use was not in the R8G but in the CRB Djet (in 85bhp single downdraft carburettor form).

cheers! Peter
Live and learn. Thanks Peter.
 
Any relation to the Boudot? Mind you, this one has gear driven cams and is on a Dauphine block. I know a guy near Seattle who has a full 60 year old, new-in-box Boudot kit.

View attachment 139497
Now that is one rare and valuable item!! I've seen one, new in box, in France. It now lives more actively in an A106 - my friend who owned it and installed it in the A106 says he much prefers to be paid to maintain it for someone else. Like the rare Gregoire suspension kits, I imagine these heads cost half as much as a new car!
Happy New Year to you and yours Mike.
 
Perhaps it's an I.P. thing but I have always wondered why people don't craft their own Gregoire rear suspension kit.
 
Gear driven cams are so cool!

And that DJET, what a beautiful thing. Thanks for sharing this.
 
Gear driven cams are so cool!

And that DJET, what a beautiful thing. Thanks for sharing this.
One might like the Djet's looks or not (obviously it's a totally subjective matter). Some find it overly narrow.
However it was not so much styled as crafted in a wind tunnel (Bonnet's partnership with aerospace manufacturer Matra had decided benefits). Road car Cd is .26 & the AeroDjet .24 & that narrowness (& thus low frontal area) no doubt assisted CdA figures.

Personally, I like its looks.

cheers! Peter
 
Yep! function over form any day of the week! Engineers, are just the coolest people.
 
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