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44
1951 - BALSA Spéciale
The item was sold for 46 908 €
Fees include commission and taxes.
1951 - BALSA Spéciale
Belgian registration title
No MOT
Typical 1950s racing racer
Superb lines, powerful 2-litre 6-cylinder engine
A car rebuilt with passion and rigour
Car stopped in 2020 and currently being improved| work to be carried out to get it back on the road and finish it off
A rare opportunity to drive a race car with a proven track record and registration
It’s impossible to retrace the history of the car that illustrates these pages without revisiting the romantic life of its builder, Marcel Balsa. Born in 1909 in the Creuse region of France, Marcel Balsa grew up in modest circumstances and learnt the trade of bolt cutter before going to work in Paris. In his spare time, and thanks to his initial savings, he raced motorbikes and got into the ring: weighing in at 100kg for 1.80m, he was a feisty performer! His brawling side came to the fore during his period “in the army”, with 265 days “in jail”! In 1934, his motorcy-cling career reached its peak with a French Championship title... A feat repeated in 1937.It was a pivotal year, which saw him open a mechanics’ workshop in Maisons-Alfort, and which enabled him to buy a Bugatti Grand Prix, then a Talbot T150 C. His talent as a driver (he spent a long time at the front of the field at the 1939 Pau Grand Prix, alongside the greatest drivers of the day!) was put on hold during the war, when he devoted himself – again successfully – to cycling. At the Liberation, he resumed his activity, and his business card sets the scene: “Marcel Balsa – racing engine specialist. Bugatti and BMW, chassis design and manufacture”. He finished 5th in the Coupe des Prisonniers at the wheel of his Bugatti 51, before buying a Maserati 6 CM. A friend of Raymond Sommer, he refused his support, which could have enabled him to become a professional driver, preferring instead to go it alone, from then on racing at the wheel of BMW 328s he had reworked himself. But what better publicity for his business than to race – and win! – at the wheel of a car of his own design?In 1950, he built a superb single-seater, powered by the BMW 6-cylinder engine from the 328 that he loved so much. As beautiful as it was powerful (6th in the 1950 Circuit des Remparts, and numerous podium finishes at Montlhéry and in Europe), this car attracted new customers, eager to race at the wheel of a Balsa. A certain Armand Philippe ordered a Balsa, which became chassis number 2. Through Marcel Balsa’s intermediary, the car was soon sold to Serge Nersessian, a young Parisian diamond dealer and occasional gent-leman driver. Pierre Abeillon interviewed him for Rétroviseur in 1997: “It was a two-seater with mudguards that could be used in both F2 and Sports. It was powered by a Meteor engine with a special crankshaft. I drove it from 1952 to 1954. In the latter year, it was fitted with a new sports car body. I sold it at the end of the season to Lamberjack, and I don’t know what he did with it. It ran very well, was very well balanced, fast and reliable.” This car enabled the young Nersessian to shine, notably at Montlhéry (2nd in the 1953 Coupes de Printemps, 1952, Coupes d’Automne), at the Grand Prix des Frontières (at Chimay), at Cadours, and so on.The open-top bodywork seems to have sur-vived, on a BMW 315 chassis, while the first bodywork, the one that raced the most, reap-peared in Belgium in the mid-1990s, at Paul Grant’s, on an unidentified chassis. It was then that Mr L. bought the bodywork and embarked on a breathtaking rebuild, in line with the few period photos. The chassis, extrapolated from a Simca 8, is a superb exercise in metalwork, as are the running gear. As for the engine, given the difficulty of finding a BMW 328 or a Meteor, Mr L. had a Bristol type 85/C engine, no. 2034 (a copy of the BMW 328!) prepared in England by specialist Brian May.The car made a number of appearances, inclu-ding a reunion with Balsa no. 1 at Montlhéry, just as it had done in their heyday. Before passing away, Mr L. modified the car very slightly, making it a two-seater, and tackled the wiring harness. This superb racer, one of only 4 Balsa Spéciale made, is now waiting for a sports/racing car enthusiast who can finish the work and improvements needed to get it back on the road and on the racetrack. To be continued...
Belgian registration title
No MOT
Typical 1950s racing racer
Superb lines, powerful 2-litre 6-cylinder engine
A car rebuilt with passion and rigour
Car stopped in 2020 and currently being improved| work to be carried out to get it back on the road and finish it off
A rare opportunity to drive a race car with a proven track record and registration
It’s impossible to retrace the history of the car that illustrates these pages without revisiting the romantic life of its builder, Marcel Balsa. Born in 1909 in the Creuse region of France, Marcel Balsa grew up in modest circumstances and learnt the trade of bolt cutter before going to work in Paris. In his spare time, and thanks to his initial savings, he raced motorbikes and got into the ring: weighing in at 100kg for 1.80m, he was a feisty performer! His brawling side came to the fore during his period “in the army”, with 265 days “in jail”! In 1934, his motorcy-cling career reached its peak with a French Championship title... A feat repeated in 1937.It was a pivotal year, which saw him open a mechanics’ workshop in Maisons-Alfort, and which enabled him to buy a Bugatti Grand Prix, then a Talbot T150 C. His talent as a driver (he spent a long time at the front of the field at the 1939 Pau Grand Prix, alongside the greatest drivers of the day!) was put on hold during the war, when he devoted himself – again successfully – to cycling. At the Liberation, he resumed his activity, and his business card sets the scene: “Marcel Balsa – racing engine specialist. Bugatti and BMW, chassis design and manufacture”. He finished 5th in the Coupe des Prisonniers at the wheel of his Bugatti 51, before buying a Maserati 6 CM. A friend of Raymond Sommer, he refused his support, which could have enabled him to become a professional driver, preferring instead to go it alone, from then on racing at the wheel of BMW 328s he had reworked himself. But what better publicity for his business than to race – and win! – at the wheel of a car of his own design?In 1950, he built a superb single-seater, powered by the BMW 6-cylinder engine from the 328 that he loved so much. As beautiful as it was powerful (6th in the 1950 Circuit des Remparts, and numerous podium finishes at Montlhéry and in Europe), this car attracted new customers, eager to race at the wheel of a Balsa. A certain Armand Philippe ordered a Balsa, which became chassis number 2. Through Marcel Balsa’s intermediary, the car was soon sold to Serge Nersessian, a young Parisian diamond dealer and occasional gent-leman driver. Pierre Abeillon interviewed him for Rétroviseur in 1997: “It was a two-seater with mudguards that could be used in both F2 and Sports. It was powered by a Meteor engine with a special crankshaft. I drove it from 1952 to 1954. In the latter year, it was fitted with a new sports car body. I sold it at the end of the season to Lamberjack, and I don’t know what he did with it. It ran very well, was very well balanced, fast and reliable.” This car enabled the young Nersessian to shine, notably at Montlhéry (2nd in the 1953 Coupes de Printemps, 1952, Coupes d’Automne), at the Grand Prix des Frontières (at Chimay), at Cadours, and so on.The open-top bodywork seems to have sur-vived, on a BMW 315 chassis, while the first bodywork, the one that raced the most, reap-peared in Belgium in the mid-1990s, at Paul Grant’s, on an unidentified chassis. It was then that Mr L. bought the bodywork and embarked on a breathtaking rebuild, in line with the few period photos. The chassis, extrapolated from a Simca 8, is a superb exercise in metalwork, as are the running gear. As for the engine, given the difficulty of finding a BMW 328 or a Meteor, Mr L. had a Bristol type 85/C engine, no. 2034 (a copy of the BMW 328!) prepared in England by specialist Brian May.The car made a number of appearances, inclu-ding a reunion with Balsa no. 1 at Montlhéry, just as it had done in their heyday. Before passing away, Mr L. modified the car very slightly, making it a two-seater, and tackled the wiring harness. This superb racer, one of only 4 Balsa Spéciale made, is now waiting for a sports/racing car enthusiast who can finish the work and improvements needed to get it back on the road and on the racetrack. To be continued...