1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C-SS news, pictures, and information

Talbot-Lago was a company formed by the collapse of Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq in 1935. Anthony Lago, founder of the company, set-out to produce a line of exclusive and expensive sports cars. The cars initially used six-cylinder engines, but later models featured eight-cylinder engines, and the occasional cheaper engines to help increase sales.

In 1936 the T150-C entered the scene. Lago was able to persued the famous driver Rene Dreyfus to leave the Ferrari organization, and race for the Talbot-Lago driving team at the French Grand Prix at Montlhery.

The Talbots featured metallic paints and dual-tone finishes. This was the influence of Figoni. Chrome was decorated along the edgework of many of his vehicles.

There were fourteen Talbot-Lago T150C SS Series created by Figoni between 1937 and 1939. Many still exist today. A true testament to the beauty and craftsmanship of these vehicles.

In 1959 the company was taken over by Simca.

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Coupe
Designer: Figoni & Falaschi
Chassis Num: 90107
Engine Num: 173180
Vin Num: 90107

Ordered by the Maharajah of Kapurthala, the car (Chassis #90107) was used by the Maharani, an English woman who went by the name of Stella Mudge, an exotic dancer at the Folies Bergeres in Paris. It campaigned in several Concours d'Elegance where it won many awards and is currently known as the only Tear Drop with front fender skirts. The car was imported in the United States by Luigi Chinetti in 1950, and was later donated to The Nethercutt Collection by Betty Locke in March 2005.

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Coupe
Designer: Figoni & Falaschi

Described by Figoni as a 'Faux Cabriolet', this teardrop was used to publicize the reliability of the Talbot-Lago chassis. On a bet, it was driven from Paris to Nice in less than 10 hours. It is one of the most elegant styles created by Figoni and is considered by enthusiasts to be his most outstanding design.

This car was the epitome of the high-quality performance and aerodynamic coachwork that defined 1930s French automotive styling. The chassis was designed by Anthony Lago in 1935, ad the series was produced between 1937 and 1939. The car had a 4-liter inline 6-cylinder engine with a hemispherical head and overhead valves on a 2.65 meter racing chassis, all designed by Talbot engineer Walter Becchia. The coachwork was by Figoni et Falaschi of Paris, masters of streamline styling. The T150 C SS won prizes at every major concours in prewar France. The press nicknamed this model the goutte d'eau, or 'tear drop,' the perfect aerodynamic shape. Woolf Barnato, chairman of Bentley Motors in 1925, became the car's first owner after he saw it at the Olympia International Automobile Exhibition in London.

Source - Peterson Museum

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Coupe
Designer: Figoni & Falaschi
Chassis Num: 90105
Engine Num: 85019

In the late 1920s, the French developed a style known as goutte d'eau, literally a drop of water referring to nature's perfect aerodynamic shape. Figoni and Falaschi adopted this style, producing awe inspiring coachwork. The Talbot Lago shown exemplifies this and is one of a dozen vehicles built.

In 1934, Major Anthony Lago rescued Talbot from the brink of insolvency. He rebuilt the company by building sports racing cars. By 1937, Talbot-Lago cars defeated Europe's best by finishing first, second, third and fourth at LeMans.

This car was originally owned and street raced by Tommy Lee. It was later owned and raced by Brooks Stevens. Aside from mechanical maintenance, the car remains original and largely as it was built in 1937.

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Coupe
Designer: Figoni & Falaschi
Chassis Num: 82928

Chassis #82928 was originally a racecar, a prototype of this design. At about the time of completion, Rene Dreyfus took up office as Chief of Race Equipment at Talbot and was, of course, a great driver. Dreyfus also brought into the Talbot's racing program another great driver, Luigi Chinetti. Lago, being short on funds to keep his racing program going, talked Rene Dreyfus into contacting Mr. Pierre Louis Dreyfus, unrelated, who had just purchased two 1.5-liter Delahaye racers. Mr. Louis Dreyfus was very rich, with investments that included a private bank. To differentiate the drivers, he raced under the pseudonym of Helde and was still racing in 1953, sharing the wheel with Luigi Chinetti at LeMans. Helde's monies kept the race team going with the first race to be Lemans but was cancelled due to a French transportation strike. Helde campaigned the car later at the G.P. of ACG, G.P. of LeMans, 24 Hours of SPA, G.P. of Comminges, Tourist trophy Race, G.P. of France and the Coupe De Automne, all with very respectable finishes. Financially astute, Helde sold the chassis to a Mr. Finley and the body to Mr. Chinetti; Figoni and Filaschi then created the touring body on the chassis as it is presently configured.

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Coupe
Designer: Figoni & Falaschi
Chassis Num: 90105
Engine Num: 85019

While there have been a number of cars to wear the dashing lines of a tear drop, only a few were set apart by the special chassis that served as a foundation for their entrancing bodywork. These mythical cars are known as the T 150 C SS. The T150 C began as a pure racing car with the 'C' designation signifying 'Corse.' The shortened SS chassis was a clever design by Vincenzo Bertarione featuring an engine tuned by Lucien Girard. The chassis was rugged and handling was balanced and predictable with the inline six-cylinder providing an outstanding performance, smoothness and a surprisingly thrifty fuel economy. The T150 C had considerable competition success, coming third at the 1938 Le Mans 24 Hours, winning the Tunis Grand Prix, finishing in the top two positions in the Tourist Trophy and sweeping the all-important French Grand Prix in 1937. With slight modifications, it is this chassis that formed the basis of the magnificent road car, imbuing one of the most stunning automotive designs with sufficient substance and a thoroughbred pedigree. Mounted on this excellent platform is the highest example of coachbuilder's art. The Figoni et Falaschi body is widely considered to be the definitive design of its era, displaying ideal proportions, alluring details and faultless forms. The Tear Drop was the epitome of a modern Europe, embodying the qualities of speed, aerodynamic prowess and good taste. As legendary automotive designer and historian Strother MacMinn once said, 'The Talbot Tear Drop Coupe represents what may be one of the finest examples of assembled form applied to the automobile.' High praise indeed.

This Tear Drop, chassis 90105, is the fourth of a mere 14 T 150 C SS chassis built and one of only a handful of the desirable New York models ever produced. The New York models are considered to be the most spectacular and cohesive examples of the Tear Drop – the identifiable example of this landmark design. A distinctive car from new, this was the only Tear Drop to be constructed without a sunroof, giving the car an even purer and more purposeful shape than the cars fitted with this option. To offset the ventilation issues of this unique configuration, a concession was made to fit the car with twin outward-opening windscreens for necessary ventilation – a unique Joseph Figoni patented design that further enhances the character of this car.

While the first registered owner of this car is unconfirmed, it is believed to have been briefly used by Frederic McEvoy, the 1937 world bobsleigh champion and double Olympic gold medalist. Mr. McEvoy was a luxury-car dealer who was associated with chassis 90103, and it is believed that he may have initially used this car, chassis 90105, for promotional purposes. At the time it was registered in Paris as '9187 RL 3.' A period image of the car, identifiable by the lack of a sunroof, shows it wearing this registration. Despite its initial stay in France, the car was destined for American shores as evidenced by the round laurel wreath badge, a feature designated strictly for export cars.

In 1939, Thomas 'Tommy' Lee, the son of wealthy West Coast Cadillac dealer Don Lee, ensured that the car's destiny would be fulfilled when he purchased this Talbot-Lago through famed distributor Luigi Chinetti who had only recently left Italy for France during the rise of Mussolini's fascist government. Mr. Lee, the consummate enthusiast and playboy, shared his father's passion for exquisite automobiles and began to amass an outstanding collection of the finest sporting cars, even creating special one-off cars to suit his particular tastes and needs. His stable at one time included a similar Tear Drop, chassis 90107, which was constructed for the Maharani of Khapurthala; three Alfa Romeo 8Cs, including two 2.9s; one of the earliest Ferrari 166 Barchettas; and countless coachbuilt American customs, Bugattis, Lagondas and Mercedes-Benz automobiles. Of all those cars, this Tear Drop was his preferred and most frequent driver.

Longtime personal mechanic to Mr. Lee, Bud Stump, recalled his employer's ebullient reaction to this particular acquisition and the Tear Drop remained in Los Angeles for the next decade. During that time, the car was enthusiastically campaigned and became well known in Los Angeles for terrorizing the local boulevards in impromptu street races, a rather incongruous use for such a dignified automobile. On several occasions, the car was taken to the nearby dry lakes east of Los Angeles where it was seen competing in speed trials against other exotics and recently developed hot rods – all while in stock form. Beyond its exploits at the dry lakes, Mr. Lee took advantage of the thoroughbred chassis of the Tear Drop, and the car war seen racing around the local road courses.

The presence of the Tear Drop in Los Angeles in the late 1940s would have been a tremendous influence on the growing number of aspiring hot-rodders and customizers. The Talbot-Lago's genius combination of Figoni's aerodynamic groundbreaking design and tested high-performance mechanicals served as the image of the ideal machine. Soon after the Tear Drop appeared in Los Angeles, a number of swooping, enclosed customs were created, taking cues from the Talbot and other great European cars. This new generation of customs featured exaggerated concepts from the Talbot, including wildly louvered bonnets, voluptuous fenders, flared headlights and small, stylized windows.

Sadly, Mr. Lee's exploits caught up with him and he was badly injured in an accident, in another car, that left him with chronic pain so great that eventually, in January 1950, he took his own life. After his tragic death, Mr. Lee's prized Tear Drop was consigned to International Motors, a famous Los Angeles-based exotic-car dealership operated by Roger Barlow. The car was purchased from Mr. Barlow by a Mr. Neal, later being sold to Ralph Knudsen of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

In 1950, this car caught the eye of renowned industrial designer Brooks Stevens. Stevens was famous for his iconic American designs and well known for his work with Studebaker and Harley-Davidson as well as his one-off Scimitar All-Purpose sedan. He was also responsible for the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile, Skytop Lounge passenger trains, the Miller High Life soft-cross logo, the Steam-O-Matic iron and Allis-Chalmers tractors. Mr. Stevens spotted the car in front of a local restaurant and after tracking Mr. Knudsen down, persuaded him to sell the car so he could add it to his growing collection of significant automobiles. In 1968, an Alfa 8C 2.9 Spider formerly owned by Tommy Lee joined the collection, and both cars continued to share the same garage for many years to come.

Not simply content with the world of design, Mr. Stevens also had a passion for motor sport and by the end of the year he had entered the car in the Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. This competition outing was documented in a 1957 article in Road & Track. Wearing the number 115, the car was admirably driven by Jim Floria and finished 11th overall, a true feat considering that it had been over two decades since the car was built and, furthermore, the Talbot ran entirely unmodified for competition use. Later, after campaigning the car at a local race in Wilmot Hills, Wisconsin, Mr. Stevens decided that it would be best to retire the Tear Drop from competition.

In addition to having one of the finest automobile collections of his time, Brooks Stevens is perhaps best remembered for coining the phrase 'planned obsolescence,' famously defining the term as 'instilling in the buyer the desire to own something a little newer, a little better, a little sooner than is necessary.' Despite this, Mr. Stevens was a passionate caretaker and preservationist with regard to his beloved Talbot-Lago, which he considered a milestone in automotive styling and modern design. There would be no desire for anything newer, better or sooner. In fact, were it not for his museum curator's hasty decision to repaint the car while Mr. Stevens was away in 1979, this Talbot would almost certainly still wear its original metallic blue livery. The car was kept in his automotive museum in Mequon, Wisconsin, until his passing in 1994. It was then sold to renowned collector Bruce Lustman who had the car sympathetically returned to its original mechanical specifications, as some minor modifications had been made for its later competition endeavors. Since Mr. Lustman's ownership, the car has had only two caretakers. Other than the minor work, it has been preserved as it had for the previous decades and is said to perform superbly.

The history of this car is well known and fully documented since its arrival in Tommy Lee's stable in 1939. It is featured prominently in Richard Adatto's comprehensive work From Passion to Perfection, regarded as the definitive survey of French aerodynamic cars of the 1930s. More than 70 years after its construction, it still remains exceptionally original, retaining all of its impressive Figoni et Falaschi coachwork and presented with a beautifully preserved leather interior. The patina evident throughout this car is immensely attractive and is clearly the result of careful use and a good deal of attentive care over the past 72 years. According to Mr. Adatto, the Tear Drop retains all of its original running gear, engine, gearbox and axles. It also has such precious details as the original Marchal headlamps and the original headliner with its unique hatched material. Even the trunk lining and the cross-hatched chrome trim along the trunk lines are still present. This is one of the most spectacular and significant automobiles ever built and a car that has been cherished by automotive connoisseurs from new. With its remarkable, unblemished history, timeless design, exhilarating performance and unquestionable originality, this automobile deserves special consideration. It has never suffered the ravages of unsympathetic restorers. There are simply not enough superlatives to describe this Talbot-Lago, and its significance to automotive history cannot be sufficiently emphasized.

Source - Gooding & Company

Anthony Lago had taken over control of the Talbot factory in Suresnes after the merger with Sunbeam and Darracq had collapsed in 1936. By 1937 he had introduced a new line of vehicles, two of which were entered in the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans. He continued his racing endeavors by moving to single-seat racers and by 1939 a purpose-built Grand Prix car had been completed. The onset of World War II slowed the racing endeavors but after the war and with the assistance of Carlo Marchetti an overall win at Le Mans was achieved.

The T26 was powered by a six-cylinder, DOHC cam engine that produced nearly 200 horsepower. The drum brakes on all four corners provided ample stopping power while the live-axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs rear suspension provided the necessary support needed in the corners at speed.

The Talbot-Lago T26 models were exquisite creations outfitted with coach work provided by some of the world's greatest coachbuilders. Never produced in large numbers, these T26 models are extremely rare and exclusive by today's standards.

Giuseppe Figoni was a brilliant artist who worked with metal to produce some of the most unique and flowing coach-bodies of all time. His designs amplified his hatred of the wind; the force that caused drag and crippled the cars power. His creations often centered around this hatred, evident by the streamlined designs, flush door handles, steeply raked windshield, sloping fastback, and enclosures for wheels and tires. The elegance of the Figoni et Falaschi designed vehicles are sensual and their curvy creations are regarded as art. Ovidio Falaschi provided the working capital and business expertise while Joseph Figoni created the sophisticated three dimensional design concepts.

In 1936 the T150-C entered the scene. Lago was able to persuade the famous driver Rene Dreyfus to leave the Ferrari organization, and race for the Talbot-Lago driving team at the French Grand Prix at Montlhery.

The Talbots featured metallic paints and dual-tone finishes. This was the influence of Figoni. Chrome was decorated along the edgework of many of his vehicles. Nearly all of the T150Cs were bodied by Figoni & Falaschi in a two-seater roadster design with the intent of using them for competition. A coupe version was created and offered to their wealthiest of clients.

The T150Cs had very curveacous body that were inspired by aerodynamic principles and aided the six-cylinder powerplant in doing its job of carrying the cars past their competition. The very elegant yet dramatic and bold design of the T150C was able remain stable at high speeds, a luxury it enjoyed on the long straight stretched of the LeMans raceway.

The first car was on display at the 1937 Paris Motorshow where it was given the nickname 'Goutte d'Eau' meaning water drop. The English translated the word to 'teardrop', in either case, the terms were appropriate, as its cycle fenders and body designed mimicked the form and gave the vehicles the illusion of motion even at stand-still.

There were two design of the Teardrop, the first being the notchback coupe dubbed the 'Jeancart'. This name was given to the car after the individual who commissioned the design. The second version was the 'New York' style which made its unveiling in the city of New York. There were eleven New York styles created and only five of the Jeancart. Again, since these were custom built, hand formed automobiles, each possesses their own unique qualities.

At the 1938 24 Hours of LeMans, a Talbot T-150C finished in third place behind two very fast Delahayes. In other types of competition, such as concours events and other 'beauty' contests, the Talbot-Lago's are regular winners. Though the duo of Figoni & Falashi only produced vehicles for a short part of history, they are among the most celebrated and memorable ever created.

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