Mahul

How to turn a passion into a profession...

Guy Savoye at the Tour de France Automobile on a Morgan +8 in 1970

Pierre-Henry began his career in Africa at an early age. Upon his return to France after 10 years on the African continent, he bought a Ford dealership in Castres.

He married a Savoye daughter, whose grandfather Jacques Savoye had founded a garage importing the English SINGER car brand in 1934. It was located in the former premises of Fiat in France, at 237 boulevard Pereire, the very heart of the Paris automobile district
and at 38 rue Brunel, the former headquarters of Georges Irat automobiles.

Jacques Savoye was by no means a newcomer to the automotive world, his father Paul Savoye,
, had chosen to take over the Levallois automobile manufacturer Créanche in 1906, and had registered a number of patents.

Brands such as Chenard & Walcker, Singer, Alvis, HRG, Swallow-Doretti, Lotus, Sunbeam, Panther Morgan, De la Chapelle, Standard, Triumph, Rover, Mini, Land-Rover, Jaguar, Lancia and Ford were distributed in these historic premises, most of them until their demise.
For Jacques Savoye, loyalty meant a lot.

He was a distinguished sportsman, a seasoned driver who took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans nine times and founded the Le Mans Drivers' Club.
He gave Singer its best ever finish in the 24h with an 8th place overall in 1938.

His children Claude and Guy followed in his footsteps, driving for Triumph and Singer in the Monte Carlo Rallye
and were shortlisted for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but were unfortunately not on the gridline.
They participated and won countless times in the Côte Fleurie and the routes du Nord rallies.

They even took part in the Nurbugring 1000kms on a Morgan in 1962 and the Tour de France auto on the brand-new Morgan +8 in 1970.

Claude Savoye took part as a journalist in the launch of the famous Sport-Auto magazine ... located a few yards away on the same sidewalk, rue Brunel.

In 1995, after returning from a round-the-world family sailing trip on his catamaran, Pierre Henry bought the family business. The third generation was in place. In an automotive world undergoing profound changes, he wanted the family business on Boulevard Pereire to perpetuate its tradition, based as much on people as on the cars.

His motto: "another vision".

Present at every start of Le Mans Classic since 2002

I've taken part in over a hundred rallies, including the Tour Auto, Tour of Spain, Tour de Corse, Monte Carlo Rally, Coupe des Alpes, Rallye de Paris and Trans Alpina, all without assistance because of the budget.

I particularly enjoyed long, gruelling rallies like the Carrera Panamericana, the Argentine Grand-Prix, London-Beijing and London-Cape Town.
The 1000 Miglia is the only great race I haven't taken part in yet.

Circuits aren't my speciality, but I have a particular fondness for Le Mans Classic, which is a phenomenal event with a unique atmosphere. I haven't missed a single edition since 2002. I was lucky enough to be one of the drivers on the winning team in 2004, and have been on the podium a few times since.

Morgan, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Ferrari, Maserati, Wiesmann, TVR...

On with the big brands

As the business grew, Pierre-Henry became the French importer of prestigious and exotic brands.

He became distributor for Morgan, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Ferrari, Maserati, Wiesmann, TVR.

He had up to 3 addresses in Paris, Cannes and Bordeaux.

Savoye & Mahul:
Two inseparable names for the Morgan brand in France

The Morgan adventure

The names Savoye and Mahul are inseparable from the Morgan brand in France.
In 1952, Jacques Savoye became exclusive distributor for Morgan in France.
The family is therefore one of the brand's historic distributors.

Morgan France delivered up to 100 new cars a year to France, regularly accounting for 15% of worldwide sales from the Malvern Link factory, by far the largest Morgan dealer in the world. More than 1,000 new Morgan cars will have been delivered to Rue Brunel ...

The end of the collaboration with Morgan

In 2012, a divergence of strategy emerged between the Morgan and Mahul families, bringing to an end over 60 years of collaboration in 2014 and, a few months later, the end of Morgan as a family business.
Modernity had entered Malvern-Link...

The Morgan France stable

Pierre-Henry Mahul created the Jacques Savoye stable, soon to be known as Ecurie Morgan France, to be closer to his customers and share the pleasures of the car he drove as far away as Beijing. The philosophy was based on... good education.

His motto:
"Together! surpassing ourselves... "

Organizing rallies, my other great passion

From 2003 to 2014, we had the great pleasure of organizing more than twenty international rallies in which over 800 drivers and navigators took part...
Our famous Cotswolds Rally, which included a private visit to the Morgan factory, attracted over 1,000 participants. From Finland to Turkey, from Albania to Dubai, from Kosovo to Jordan, from Scotland to Spain, from Portugal to Macedonia, our valiant Morgans covered more than two million kilometers... without a single breakdown.

The future, between mountain laces, genoas and spinnakers...

Pierre-Henry départ Gutsy Solo Challenge 2023 Cadix

The road ahead

Since then, Pierre-Henry has retired to his property in the middle of the Bandol vineyards, where he has of course continued to look after his collection and his beloved oldtimers...
He's finally takig the time to indulge in a solo ocean crossing almost every year.

His peregrinations have taken him from the West Indies to the San Blas, Tahiti, Cape Horn, Tierra del Fuego and the Falklands, not forgetting Cadiz, his favorite home port.
All of this sailing spurred a first book, currently being republished.

Panhard, love at first sight!

It was by the merest chance that I was invited...

to drive the CD Panhard 64 at the 2004 Le Mans Classic.
It was a revelation for me, as up until then I'd been used to racing powerful cars, but I discovered that lightness, sleek aerodynamics and avant-garde design could work wonders.

The car was engineered by Charles Deutsch for the aerodynamics, and by Louis Bionnier for the famous Panhard powertrain with its unrivalled performance.
To crown the experience, we, the number 44 team, were declared winners of the event in terms of both distance and index!

From then on, all I could think about was getting my CD. Alas, I'd have to make do with the factory coach, the magnificent Berlinette 64 not being within my means. But the coach is also a very accomplished car, whose prototype won the performance index classification at the Les Mans 24-hour race in 1962.

My friend Reynald Vercoutter, a great Panhard specialist, will prepare my CD with great care, and I'll be at the start of Le Mans Classic with him six times, and six times at the finish, always with the same engine ... and twice on the second step of the podium ...

My road Pan-Pans

But Panhard is also a wonderful road car. My 1961 PL17 and my 1955 Dyna Z1 will have left a lasting impression on the other competitors, as well as on the public, who love to see these cars, at the Tour de Corse historique as well as at the Monte Carlo Rallye historique, swaying on three ... or sometimes even two wheels!

Barquette DB Le Mans 1957

I was then lucky enough to become the proud owner of J.C. Vidilles and Jo Schlesser's 1957 DB Le Mans barquette. Vidilles and Jo Schlesser
A historic car with a huge heart, superbly prepared thanks to all the experience of Claude Pinon. With my faithful team-mate Thierry Arrais, we can say that Panhard cars have enabled us to discover racing in a different way... and with what pleasure! Don't hesitate to visit the excellent Panhard Racing Team website
and that's not all...

A lifetime ofadventure& passionfor cars...

BoatsandSailing