Goutte D'Eau/Teardrop:

Giuseppe Figoni was an artist in metal, a three-dimensional talent whose unique flowing coachwork made the automobile a pearl shaped by invisible forces.

The wind was Giuseppe Figoni's enemy. It fought him wîth drag and swirls that sapped his cars' power. The automobile's Archilles heel was its wheels and tires, interrupting air flow and creating the drag that challenged Figoni. His accomplishment in making enclosure of wheels and tires an important design element foreshadowed the work of his contemporaries and successors by years. Figoni complemented his voluptuous shapes wîth a creative and original palette.

This automotive sculptor was born in 1894 in Piacenza, in Italy's Emilia region, and emigrated wîth his family as a boy to Paris where had apprenticed in a classic coach works. It eventually became Carrosserie Automobilie in Boulogne-sur-Seine near Paris's famous Longchamp race course, a mecca for the Parisian carriage trade. Figoni's creativity wasn't limited to sculpting beautiful and efficient coachworks, however. He also created and patented designs for disappearing soft tops and even a disappearing sunroof. Figoni developed a following early on, and what could be more understandable than that Tony Lago, attempting to revivify Talbot, should likewise establish a relationship wîth him.

In 1935 Figoni acquired a partner, businessman Ovidio Flaschi, who also hailed from Italy, creating Figoni & Falaschi. On a personal basis the creative Figoni meshed well wîth Falaschi, whose capital and management skills allowed Figoni to concentrate on his designs which became even more creative and stylish after Falschi's arrival. Figoni was an early adopter of the brilliant paint colors and metallic finished being developed n the mid-'30s and understood the value of stunning presentations. He was famous for his cooperation wîth the couturiers of Paris to create gowns in styles and colors that matched Figoni & Falaschi's cars in shows and concours d'elegance.

Figoni's automobile designs were flamboyant, graceful and gorgeous, carefully sculpted wîth the eye of an artist wîth an inherent appreciation for air flow. Like dunes wind-shaped around the obstacles of rocks and structures, the goutte d'eau coupes of Joseph Figoni accepted the influence of wheels, wind shields, engines and passengers, expressing an intrinsic purity and simplicity that was revolutionary and stunningly beautiful to behold.

Along wîth similar designs from Figoni's Parisian colleague and competitor Marcel Pourtout, the goutte d'eau sprang upon the automotive world in 1935. Its applications were both extravagant show cars and practical applications that improved the efficiency and performance of competition cars like Tony Lago's T150 C.

Only 16 Talbot-Lago T150 C chassis were bodied by Figoni & Falschi in the goutte d'eau coupe style. All shared Figoni's signature teardrop fenders, steeply raked windshield, flush door handles, chrome accents and sloping fastback. Five were subtly notchbacked, known today as the 'Jeancart' style after the buyer of the first example. The remaining 11 were, wîth one exception, built on the sporting short-chassis T150 C SS and are today known as the Model New York style (Figoni & Falschi's style number 9220.) The first was built for socialite Freddy McEvoy (who acted as the agent for Figoni & Falaschi and Talbot-Lago in several Teardrop sales) and debuted at the New York Auto Show in 1937.

Characterized by a radiator shrouded in a rounded, streamlined shell, and a vertical oval grille, Figoni & Falschi's 'Model New York' coupes are the ultimate expression of the goutte d'eau style. Each is subtly different in concept and details, reflecting the desires of their individual clients and the application for which they were intended.

Delahaye, Delage, Peugeot, Bugatti and even Bentley employed the goutte d'eau style, but it is the few, spectacular and individualistic Talbot-Lago T150 C SS Teardrop coupes of Figoni & Falaschi that have captured the imaginations of collectors, leaving an enduring and unmatched impression of excellent.

This Car

Talbot-Lago T150 C SS number 90117 was ordered in 1938 by the Duke Philippe de Massa specifically to race in the 1939 Le Mans 24 Hours. It was bodied in aluminum wîth steel fenders for lightness and features both Joseph Figoni's signature flush-fitting sunroof and a one-piece rear window which is hinged at the top and opens for cockpit ventilation in competition, the only Teardrop coupe wîth this feature. According to Claude Figoni, the coachwork is 2 inches lower and 4 inches longer than the other T150 C SS goutte d'eau coupes for reduced frontal area and lower drag. Additional competition features include the quick-release external fuel filler cap and large-capacity fuel tank fitted below the trunk, which is full-sized to contain the spare tire required by sports-car racing regulations, a body-colored mesh grille for additional cooling below the chrome radiator grille and added bracing for the front end. The headlights are completely faired into the low catwalks between the body and the teardrop front fenders and covered by vertical grilles that complement the radiator grille.

Prospects of competition did not, however, preclude the Duke from including the Teardrop's comfortable appointments and the chic chrome trim and details that accented its flowing lines. In fact, the Duke's Teardrop is a symphony of delightful details, wîth fully skirted rear wheels, organic oval side window opening wîth subtly devilled glass edges, a row of curved hood-side louvers accented by thin chrome moldings, chrome rear deck center spline, thin blade bumpers and subtle chrome trim under the doors in a thin, reverse fishtail shape that flows into the chrome accents along wîth the lower edges of the rear fenders. The interior was upholstered in leather, accented by finely carved wood trim around the windows and dashboard and cloth-covered interior panels, although the driver's seat is a semi-bucket configuration also specified for participation at Le Mans, as is the 250 kph speedometer.

The Duke de Massa and his co-driver Norbert Mahe cut a fine figure at the Le Mans 2 Hours race in 1939, even as the clouds that would rain the destruction of World War II upon Europe were gathering. Their Talbot-Lago was entered by TASO Mathieson, historian, racer and frequent entrant of important race cars. Race preparation included fitting a special hood wîth open sides for better cooling and a filler cap access wîth engine-oil filler extension, and removal of the bumpers. De Massa and Mahe had their Talbot-Lago T150 C SS in a strong ninth position when they were forced to retire on the 88th lap, just beyond one-third distance, when the car was spun on oil on the track and traveled some distance in the wrong direction, resulting in a disqualification.

Other than an appearance in a French concours following Le Mans, the subsequent history of this Talbot-Lago T150 CC SS is unknown until it turned up in the ownership of Mr. A. Becker in Rangsdorf, East Germany, in largely complete, original, yet neglected condition. It was next acquired by Peter Schmitz in West Germany in November 1989, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, who began a restoration which remained unfinished at the time it was sold to the Deventer Motor Museum in the Netherlands in 1995.

When found in East Germany, the Talbot-Lago's engine was missing, however it was known that both this car and the ex-Chiron Talbot-Lago had been stored together in the Reims area before WWII. The Chiron Talbot had been acquired by Ron Smith in England wîth a spare engine that proved to be the original T150 C SS engine from the Duke de Massa's 1939 Le Mans Teardrop, and the engine was acquired and reunited wîth its original chassis and body. The valve cover still displays a large welded-in plug, exactly where the extended filler would have projected through Figoni & Falaschi's racing hood.

It was acquired by the present owner in 1996, and a comprehensive restoration was completed for him in 2002. Now lustrously restored and presented in deep Aubergine wîth rich Pigskin leather upholstery and tan cloth interior trim, it has been painstakingly restored, even to the extent of constructing fitted luggage. The owner relates that color selection was carefully considered and involved the acquisition of several ripe eggplants from a farmer's market, which were then carefully polished wîth Meguiar's products until the desired deep, rich color was achieved and matched by the paint supplier.

This is the only Talbot-Lago T150 C SS Figoni & Falaschi goutte d'eau coupe ever built specifically for competition. Its coachwork is described by Claude Figoni as unique even among the individually configured Teardrop series. Lavishly trimmed and detailed, it is a rare example of concours elegance and competition which survived in remarkably complete and undamaged condition, through 50 years until it was acquired and restored by the present owner. It has never been shown, and has only about 100 miles of shakedown and test driving since its restoration was completed.