Le Grand 8

The Le Grand 8, manufactured by Christian Automatic of Montgeron, France in 1985, is a rare example of French solid-state electronic (SS) pinball design, with only 100 confirmed units produced. It is a conversion kit built on Gottlieb's 1980 'Panthera,' reusing that game's playfield structure while adding new artwork, sound, and game memory specific to Le Grand 8. Its amusement-park roller-coaster theme, with artwork by Agnès Dusaugey, captures the spirit of its name.

The machine's gameplay features four flippers, three pop bumpers, one slingshot, drop targets, standup targets, star rollovers, a spinning target, and a kick-out hole. Its standout feature is a center playfield captive-ball looping lane that simulates a roller coaster: the captive ball travels between the left, center, and right lanes of an enclosed area, and when it comes to rest against a curved rail in the center, the ball in play striking that rail knocks the captive ball back into motion.

According to French collector Claude Verpy, manufacturer Christian Tabart had operators bring in their existing machines - often Panthera, Mars God of War, or Volcano - to be converted in his Montgeron workshop; games converted from Mars God of War or Volcano retained their original "infinity lighting" backboxes. This hands-on, made-to-order conversion process makes Le Grand 8 a distinctive piece of 1980s French pinball history.