Vaillante was in the beginning a French transporting company. They also created their own trucks and cars, and decided to enter the Formula One, with Michel Vaillant, the son of Henri, as their pilot. The chief designer of Vaillante is Jean-Pierre, the elder brother of Michel Vaillant. The Vaillante logo is very similar to that of actual French auto makerMatra. Les Usines Vaillante is the France-based and automobile manufacturer created by Henri Vaillant and specialized in trucks and high performance sports cars. Vaillante factories are made up of many training circuits, parking, various buildings for stockage and many offices. Vaillante Team is the name of the motorsport brand which belongs to the Vaillante firm. According to Michel Vaillant albums, Henri Vaillant created it in 1939, when he engaged his own car in the Mans 24 hours race. His team mate was Miss Margareth Ranson, an English female driver. Then Jean-Pierre Vaillant, Henri's son, took over as leader of the team. Some prestigious drivers were employed by the Vaillant team, among them the main characters of the Michel Vaillant series, Michel Vaillant, Jean-Pierre Vaillant, Steve Warson, Yves Douléac, Julie Wood, Gabrielle Spangenberg, but also many non-fictional drivers such as Vanina Ickx, Jacky Ickx, Didier Pironi, Patrick Tambay, Thierry Boutsen, Jean-Pierre Beltoise, René Arnoux and Éric Bernard. A.S.V is the name of the association related to Vaillante. The association have at its disposal a centre of formation and learning for young pilots. Benjamin Vaillant is the name of an independent transporting company established in Marseille, run by Benjamin Vaillant, Henri Vaillant's brother, with the collaboration Mme. Douléac, Yves Douléac's mother.
Non-fictional existence
Vaillante has a large following in France and Belgium, and there are many toy models of Vaillante cars available for fans, based on the series.
In 2002, a Lola B98/10LMP sportscar in Vaillante livery was entered at the Le Mans 24 Hours to obtain footage for the Luc Besson film Michel Vaillant.
There have been also a few attempts to create real Vaillante cars, both road cars and racing cars. A driving school project was launched and the FR2000 Vaillante team was created by Graton Editeur and SportsManShip.
