1923 Delage DE

Louis Delage was born in 1874 in Cognac, south of France. His family had a modest income which allowed him to attend and graduate from the Ecole des Arts et Metiers in Angers in 1893. He then moved to Paris and began working with the Turgan-Foy company. Later he accepted a position with Peugeot. He left soon after to start his own company. Louis Delage began designing and building cars in 1905 with Augustin Legros as his chief engineer. Legros had left Peugeot with Delage and stayed with the company until 1935. The company focused on building cars that were of high quality and reliability. Their first cars were produced in 1906 and were called the Type A and B. The cars were powered by a single cylinder de Dion engines producing about 6-7 horsepower.

Louis Delage was a very ambitious man. He had a passion for racing and a competitive edge that led him to produce some of the greatest sports cars of the era. In 1906 he participated in the Coupe des Voiturettes and was awarded a second-place finish. This accomplished fueled sales. In 1908 he had three cars enter in the Coupe des Voiturettes race where they achieved a first-place victory.

In 1909 Delage moved away from the de Dion engines and began using their own 4-cylinder engine. However, some of the models they produced did use engines produced by the famous engine supplier, Ballot.

During World War I the company aided in the war-time efforts by producing munitions. This did much to increase Louis Delage's personal fortune. When peace returned, the Delage Company returned to automobile production. Their first vehicle after WWI was a six-cylinder CO, which was a slow seller. Their other model, the four-cylinder DO, was also an unfruitful venture. Production continued until 1921, with a total of 1602 examples produced of both types.

In 1921, at the Paris Motor Salon, Delage introduced their next new model, the four-cylinder DE. Sales were steady, with around 3600 units produced by 1923.

Throughout the years, Delage has had many successes in the racing arena. Sadly, it was not enough. In 1935, their fortunes changed. The company closed due to bankruptcy and was bought by Walter Watney, the owner of a used Delage car dealership in Paris. A machine tool company purchased the main factory in Courdevoie. Delahaye, another famous automobile manufacturer of the time, bought the rights to manufacture cars under the Delage name.
By Daniel Vaughan | May 2007

Sold for $76,050 at 2006 Bonhams & Butterfields at The Quail Lodge, Resort & Golf Club.
This 1923 Delage DE Tourer was offered for sale at the 2006 Bonhams & Butterfields auction held at the Quail Lodge in Carmel, California. The car has one-off coachwork by M. Taubes of Paris, France, and was estimated to sell for $75,000 - $95,000. It has a collapsible rear windshield, jump seats, wire wheels, twin side-mounted spare tires, luggage rack, spotlight, running boards, a tan convertible top, and is finished in a dual-windshield 'torpedo' tourer body style.

In 1990, this car was treated to a restoration and only recently imported to the United States. It is an elegant classic from one of France's finest automobile creators. At the auction, the selling price surpassed the estimated value, selling for $102,960.
By Daniel Vaughan | May 2007