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Private company

Clénet Coachworks

Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

Clénet was a manufacturer of Neoclassic automobiles with old retro styling, mixed with modern technology. Each limited-production model was conceived, designed, and produced by a small team in Santa Barbara County, California, in the 1970s and 1980s. The automobile's distinctive styling was based on the high-end automobiles of the 1930s.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1975Founded1
  • HeadquartersSanta Barbara1

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1979 Clénet Series I Roadster
Photo: Lenore Edman from Sunnyvale, CA, cropped by uploader Mr.choppers, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

Clénet was a manufacturer of Neoclassic automobiles with old retro styling, mixed with modern technology. Each limited-production model was conceived, designed, and produced by a small team in Santa Barbara County, California, in the 1970s and 1980s. The automobile's distinctive styling was based on the high-end automobiles of the 1930s. Despite their retro looks, Clénets used modern drive trains and suspension systems.2

The story

Clénet Coachworks, Inc., started in a garage, with investors in 1975. Clénet's first car was called the Series I. It was a roadster designed in a 1930s style. This was then replaced by the heavier-looking Series II in 1979.

Originally the company was moved into an airplane hangar where an assembly line style of production was begun, later to be reborn in a "high tech" facility in Goleta, California, in 1980, where production of Series II continued until the company ran into financial difficulties and ceased production in 1982.

By 1984, Alfred J. DiMora (b. 1956) - owner of Classic Clénet Club and one of the first employees of Clénet - had purchased off the assets and the name of Clénet Coachworks, Inc.; Alain Clénet filed for bankruptcy in 1979. The remaining bodies, tooling and equipment went up for auction.

A total of 250 factory-authorized Clénet Series I, 187 Series II, 65 Series III, and 15 Series IV cars were produced by Clénet Coachworks, Inc. Clénets sold for around US$105,000 in the 1970s. Recently Clénets in excellent or new condition with no mileage have sold for US$100,000 to $150,000.

From Wikipedia’s article on Clénet Coachworks, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. 1987Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1975Founded Founded1

Sources

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