Rene Dreyfus lived a long and adventurous double life that began as a world-class racing driver in Europe and ended as one of New York’s most famous restaurateurs. Born in France in 1905, he developed a considerable interest in automobiles and learned to drive by the age of eight.
He acquired a Bugatti T35B by the age of nineteen and began to compete in numerous races in which he demonstrated his natural talent. His first professional race was the inaugural Monaco grand prix in 1929 where he finished fifth overall and entered the following year to compete against the official Bugatti entries. He realised the team cars were faster so he made the decision to install extra fuel tanks in order to drive the 200-mile race without stopping. He drove for three and a half hours single-handed, beating the second-place works Bugatti by 23 seconds, a feat many considered impossible. During the 1930s the French manufacturers struggled to compete with the government-funded German cars as well as the Italian entries from Alfa Romeo and Maserati. Due to his Jewish heritage, Dreyfus was never invited to join the German teams but he did accept an occasional offer to drive a Maserati, as seen in the accompanying photograph taken during the 1931 French grand prix where he shared the car with Pietro Ghersi. The race was held at Montlhery and the winning Bugatti completed 101 laps of the long circuit with a race distance of 800 miles (1287 kilometres). Dreyfus is seen assisting during a pitstop, holding the fuel filler, but the car was slowed due to mechanical problems, finishing 13 laps behind the winner in eighth place.
In 1937 a ‘Million Franc’ prize was offered by the French government in an effort to further the development of French automobiles. This consisted of a number of time trials, designed to test the cars to their limits. On the first day Dreyfus risked his life in his Delahaye 145, beating all other competitors apart from the Bugattis. The next day a final run was held and once again Dreyfus risked everything, driving his car to the limit until the Bugattis broke. The following year he became a national hero when he drove his Delahaye to victory in the Pau grand prix where he defeated the mighty Mercedes Silver Arrows by driving to the chequered flag without stopping to refuel. In 1940, he was commissioned to represent France in the Indianapolis 500, driving a Maserati. The team, which included Luigi Chinetti who was employed as a mechanic, departed for America on the last ship to leave Italy before it joined the war. Unable to speak English or understand the rules of the race, they finished in tenth place but more importantly, Dreyfus was now in the USA and was strongly advised not to return to Europe. Both he and Chinetti would later take American citizenship and made it their home. Dreyfus purchased a restaurant in New Jersey, enrolled in the army and was sent to Italy where he commanded a transportation company. In 1945 he made contact with his brother and sister and they returned with him to America where he opened another restaurant, Le Chanteclair, that became famous not only within the motorsport community – every driver and team owner would dine there when they were in Manhattan – but also the most influential people from the creative and artistic communities. Motorsport now took second place in his life and, apart from an occasional outing at Le Mans in the early 1950s, he was fully committed to ensuring the success of his restaurant where he met and entertained his clients. He passed away in 1993 at the age of 88.
