1938 Delage D6-70 Cabriolet

In 1905 Louis Delage started his automobile company in France and within a year he began racing. A man obsessed; he won the European Grand Prix Championship in 1927. His dream realized, he closed his race department, sold off his race cars and returned to the manufacture of automobiles. He lost money on every chassis sold. Delage was financially devastated. He sold out to arch-rival Delahaye which continued production. The D6-70 was introduced shortly thereafter in 1937.

This 1938 Delage D6-70 with its 2.7-liter, 6-cylinder engine has cabriolet coachwork created by Letourner et Marchand in Paris. It was built for Mme. Claire Marie Lecomte and was exhibited at concours d'elegance in Paris and Biarritz in the summer of 1938. Mme. Lecomte signed an order for the Delage on November 15th of 1937. After seeing the 'Grasshopper' at the Morocco Rally, she wanted a similar car built, but with a more streamlined and sporty body. The result was this Delage, finished in the spring of 1938.

For the duration of the war, the Delage lay partly hidden in a barn in Biarritz and was sadly neglected. After the war, Lecomte returned to Paris but left the car behind. After being rescued by a local car dealer and partly restored, it again fell on hard times and was eventually parked in its owner's front garden, gaining the nickname La Rouille, 'The Rusty!' It was rescued very recently and the current owner has restored it to its prewar elegance. The car has passed through several owners before being acquired by the current owners.