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Details
Color Photos Credit: Allan Rosenberg
1948 DELAHAYE 135M CABRIOLET
COACHWORK BY SAOUTCHIK
Chassis No. 800858
Engine No. 800858
Burgundy and cream coachwork with brown leather upholstery
Engine: six cylinder, in-line, cast iron cylinder block and head with two pushrod-operated valves per cylinder, single side-mounted camshaft, triple side-draught Solex carburetors, 3,557cc., 115bhp at 4,000rpm; Gearbox: single dry plate clutch with four-speed Cotal electro-magnetic gearbox, spiral bevel final drive; Suspension: front, independent with underslung transverse semi-elliptic leaf springs with vertical links, radius arms and friction-type shock absorbers; Brakes: four wheel hydraulic drum brakes, Bendix duo-servo operation. Right hand drive.
During the immediate pre-war period the Delahaye 135 in its various guises excelled in sports car racing, the marque finishing in the first six places in the Marseilles GP in 1936, and in the 1936 French Grand Prix it had a near win with 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th places. In endurance racing, the marque placed 1st, 2nd and 4th at Le Mans in 1938. At rallying, there were wins in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1937 and 1939. All this came from a simple pushrod six cylinder engine that owed its origin more to commercial vehicles than to anything else. Any lack of sophistication was more than made up for with reliability, torque and ease of maintenance. A bonus was the motor's relative economy as 20 mpg could be attained when touring.
The chassis, like the engine, was vice-free; it was light with positive steering befitting a much smaller car, powerful brakes and sure-footed road-holding well up to the standard of the time. These cars were often equipped, like this one, with the ingenious and enjoyable Cotal electro-magnetic gearbox, which gave instantaneous, foolproof changes by way of a small lever operating in a gate mounted on the steering column, the central lever on the floor selecting forward, neutral and reverse.
This 135 Delahaye is fitted with the more powerful option of triple Solex carburetors which boost the power to 115bhp, the only difference between this and the even more powerful MS version being in the cylinder head, camshaft and compression ratio.
Chassis 800858 carries cabriolet coachwork built by the famous Parisian coachbuilder Jean Saoutchik and was almost immediately registered under the name of J. Saoutchik in May 1948 with the registration number 9895 RQ 2. (Interestingly, records show that a Delahaye Type 175 was also registered by Saoutchik the same day with the next number 9896 RQ 2). The car was then entered into that summer's chic Paris Concours d'Elegance in the Bois de Boulogne on June 17th and exactly a week later at the Enghien Concours d'Elegance; two well-known pictures were taken during the presentation of the car.
At the end of the summer 1948, the Delahaye was sold to the famous French actress Suzi Prim. She kept the car until 1954 when she part-exchanged it for a new Delahaye Type 235 at the 'Garage du Jourdain' in Paris. Mr. Hubert Meplain subsequently purchased the car and registered it in the South of France on December 27, 1954 with the number 570 CP 06. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s the Delahaye became Mr. Meplain's favorite drive on the route Nationale 7 between his business in Paris and his home in Monaco. He sold the car in 1965, when on his way to Monaco he encountered mechanical problems and decided it was no longer reliable and too expensive to maintain. A Mr. Vincent in the French Riviera became the next owner, although he never actually used the car but just stored it in his barn for many years. Pictures of the car in this period survive on file. In the early 1970s a Delahaye collector from Belgium, Mr. De Jaiffe, bought the car and had it repainted in dark blue and black. In 1978 the car changed hands again and was registered 7052 RZ 67 on May 7th in the name of the new owner, Mr. Gillman of Strasbourg. It was at this time that the car was sent to Karlsruhe in Germany for an extensive restoration. The wheels were modified to Rudge wires and the color scheme was changed to the two-tone burgundy and cream that it retains today. Mr. Gillman kept the car for the next twenty years and used it in numerous European rallies.
This Delahaye with fully spatted rear wheel arches, a split windshield, a dorsal fin and push button doors, still bares the unique touches of its creator. Only the color scheme and the Rudge wheels were modified over the years. The car has the original mechanical components, original body and wood frame (in well-preserved condition). Offered in good running condition and very presentable, it won the Chopard Cup at a Swiss concours in 1999, and has completed over 2000 miles of European Rallies in the past three years. This elegant Cabriolet exemplifies the worldwide reputation of French coachbuilders' designs that had become so popular before World War II with both affluent new owners and Concours d'Elegance participants.
WITHOUT RESERVE
1948 DELAHAYE 135M CABRIOLET
COACHWORK BY SAOUTCHIK
Chassis No. 800858
Engine No. 800858
Burgundy and cream coachwork with brown leather upholstery
Engine: six cylinder, in-line, cast iron cylinder block and head with two pushrod-operated valves per cylinder, single side-mounted camshaft, triple side-draught Solex carburetors, 3,557cc., 115bhp at 4,000rpm; Gearbox: single dry plate clutch with four-speed Cotal electro-magnetic gearbox, spiral bevel final drive; Suspension: front, independent with underslung transverse semi-elliptic leaf springs with vertical links, radius arms and friction-type shock absorbers; Brakes: four wheel hydraulic drum brakes, Bendix duo-servo operation. Right hand drive.
During the immediate pre-war period the Delahaye 135 in its various guises excelled in sports car racing, the marque finishing in the first six places in the Marseilles GP in 1936, and in the 1936 French Grand Prix it had a near win with 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th places. In endurance racing, the marque placed 1st, 2nd and 4th at Le Mans in 1938. At rallying, there were wins in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1937 and 1939. All this came from a simple pushrod six cylinder engine that owed its origin more to commercial vehicles than to anything else. Any lack of sophistication was more than made up for with reliability, torque and ease of maintenance. A bonus was the motor's relative economy as 20 mpg could be attained when touring.
The chassis, like the engine, was vice-free; it was light with positive steering befitting a much smaller car, powerful brakes and sure-footed road-holding well up to the standard of the time. These cars were often equipped, like this one, with the ingenious and enjoyable Cotal electro-magnetic gearbox, which gave instantaneous, foolproof changes by way of a small lever operating in a gate mounted on the steering column, the central lever on the floor selecting forward, neutral and reverse.
This 135 Delahaye is fitted with the more powerful option of triple Solex carburetors which boost the power to 115bhp, the only difference between this and the even more powerful MS version being in the cylinder head, camshaft and compression ratio.
Chassis 800858 carries cabriolet coachwork built by the famous Parisian coachbuilder Jean Saoutchik and was almost immediately registered under the name of J. Saoutchik in May 1948 with the registration number 9895 RQ 2. (Interestingly, records show that a Delahaye Type 175 was also registered by Saoutchik the same day with the next number 9896 RQ 2). The car was then entered into that summer's chic Paris Concours d'Elegance in the Bois de Boulogne on June 17th and exactly a week later at the Enghien Concours d'Elegance; two well-known pictures were taken during the presentation of the car.
At the end of the summer 1948, the Delahaye was sold to the famous French actress Suzi Prim. She kept the car until 1954 when she part-exchanged it for a new Delahaye Type 235 at the 'Garage du Jourdain' in Paris. Mr. Hubert Meplain subsequently purchased the car and registered it in the South of France on December 27, 1954 with the number 570 CP 06. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s the Delahaye became Mr. Meplain's favorite drive on the route Nationale 7 between his business in Paris and his home in Monaco. He sold the car in 1965, when on his way to Monaco he encountered mechanical problems and decided it was no longer reliable and too expensive to maintain. A Mr. Vincent in the French Riviera became the next owner, although he never actually used the car but just stored it in his barn for many years. Pictures of the car in this period survive on file. In the early 1970s a Delahaye collector from Belgium, Mr. De Jaiffe, bought the car and had it repainted in dark blue and black. In 1978 the car changed hands again and was registered 7052 RZ 67 on May 7th in the name of the new owner, Mr. Gillman of Strasbourg. It was at this time that the car was sent to Karlsruhe in Germany for an extensive restoration. The wheels were modified to Rudge wires and the color scheme was changed to the two-tone burgundy and cream that it retains today. Mr. Gillman kept the car for the next twenty years and used it in numerous European rallies.
This Delahaye with fully spatted rear wheel arches, a split windshield, a dorsal fin and push button doors, still bares the unique touches of its creator. Only the color scheme and the Rudge wheels were modified over the years. The car has the original mechanical components, original body and wood frame (in well-preserved condition). Offered in good running condition and very presentable, it won the Chopard Cup at a Swiss concours in 1999, and has completed over 2000 miles of European Rallies in the past three years. This elegant Cabriolet exemplifies the worldwide reputation of French coachbuilders' designs that had become so popular before World War II with both affluent new owners and Concours d'Elegance participants.
WITHOUT RESERVE
Special notice
This lot is offered without reserve.