Scarabée d’Or 2019: a challenge for young people
Scarabée d'Or 2019: a challenge for young people
After three years of study and work, the “new” Scarabée d’Or was unveiled on Monday May 13 to the public and the press during a great evening in the chapel of the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris. It was presented alongside the original 1922 vehicle and will join the Rassemblement du Siècle at La Ferté Vidame on 19, 20 and 21 July.
This program was put together by the association Des Voitures & des Hommes*, in partnership with the Musée des Arts et Métiers and Citroën Héritage. The objective of the “Le Scarabée d’Or, a challenge for young people” project was to reconstruct identically the half-track Citroën B2 10 HP model K1 which was the first car to cross the Sahara in December 1922.
* Cars and Men is an association bringing together men and women who love beautiful old cars, but also old motorcycles.
Let’s go back to the story of the original Golden Scarab…
The Citroën B2 10 HP model K1 half-track was the first car to cross the Sahara in December 1922. It was the command vehicle of an expedition initiated by André Citroën, and commanded by George-Marie Haardt and Louis Audouin-Dubreuil. Accompanied by four other vehicles of the same type, the Scarabée d’Or crossed the Sahara in 21 days (from December 17, 1922 to January 7, 1923), covering 3,200 unmarked kilometers between Touggourt and Timbuktu. This Raid Citroën was the first voyage of exploration to take place entirely under the gaze of the world press with regular bulletins appearing in the newspapers as soon as radio and telegraph transmissions reached Paris from the desert. It was a demonstration of the industrial, technical and commercial know-how of André Citroën and the brand with the chevrons. Its epic was the prelude to Citroën’s famous black and yellow cruises which followed in 1924 and 1931.
The project “Le Scarabée d’Or, a challenge for young people” was organized in a simple way around a steering committee whose role was to coordinate the actions of all those involved in the act of rebuilding the Scarabée d’Or. ‘Gold. There was also a technical and scientific committee to ensure that the rebuilt vehicle conforms to the original vehicle.
The technical and scientific committee exchanges constantly with the steering committee and the schools in charge of the reconstruction.
The students of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure Arts et Métiers and those of the Lycée du Château d’Epluches were the prime contractors for this new human adventure.
“200 people are involved in the project at school level, including around 160 students and 40 teachers”
To go further
The film of the project : https://vimeo.com/336034143
