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1948 Talbot-Lago T-26 background image

1948 Talbot-Lago T-26 Grand Sport Cabriolet

  • Coachwork by Saoutchik
  • Chassis Number: 110110
  • Engine Number: 108
1948 Talbot-Lago T-26 Navigation
In war, life still goes on; dreams continue to color sleep and hope sees the sunrise after the darkest of nights.

Anthony Lago was just such a dreamer. Though interrupted by the war, the Frenchman still held out visions of a grand tomorrow, a tomorrow filled with elegance and performance, a world where sport and pleasure mixed seamlessly.

His dreams would be interrupted when he was only able to get as far as the T150C SS. However, throughout the war, he would continue tinkering with the chassis until the T26 was birthed, at least in his head.

It wouldn't be until after the war the T26 Grand Sport would become a reality. And, what a reality it would become. The elite of the elite, the shortened-wheelbase version could not have been more rare, more exclusive, but it wasn't just about luxury and opulence.

Eccentric and exorbitant and not a little preposterous, the Grand Sport was only for those who could afford it, and even then it still cost too much. But, for the 29 examples that would be built, the owners could claim an exclusivity that practically no one else on the planet enjoyed.

The rarity came in the fact that each of the 29 T26 Grand Sports to be built on the shortened-wheelbase chassis all had individually crafted bodies. No two were alike. And, chassis 110110 clearly attests to this fact.

To say this car could be seen coming from a mile away would be a gross understatement. Certainly one of the most striking and over-the-top festooned designs ever created by Saoutchik, this car would be a shoe-in for display and was a part of the Geneva Motor Show upon its completion in 1949.

Not long afterward, the car would be purchased by New Yorker Louis Ritter. He already had a Saoutchik-bodied Cadillac on order, but when he saw the Talbot-Lago in Geneva in 1949, he was determined right then and there that he had to have the car.

All about the image, Ritter would have the Talbot-Lago for just a matter of few months before returning it to the dealer to sell again. This was not such an easy task given the upper reaches of the heavens the car's price touched. Nevertheless, Roger Barlow would prove equal to the task. Selling the car for an ungodly sum of $17,500 in 1950, Barlow would nevertheless succeed in reselling the car some three times.

The final owner of those three would be Walter L. Burghard of Mansfield, Ohio. In 1953, Burghard would have the body removed from the Talbot-Lago chassis and placed atop a Mercury chassis that was fitted with a V-8 engine from a Lincoln.

The final time the car would be seen would be 1970. Earl Weiner, the man who had removed the body from the Talbot-Lago chassis, still retained the chassis and would eventually put it up for sale. In 1975, the chassis would be purchased by Jerry Sherman of Malvern, Pennsylvania. Sherman would be interested in building a racing car version of the Talbot-Lago and would set about having a custom body designed for the chassis.

Sherman would use the car for races and would drive the car regularly right up until 1990, when a fire damaged the chassis. The car would then sit around until Sherman passed away and the car transferred to Tony Carroll's ownership. Carroll would determine it was time for a full restoration.

This restoration effort would take more than ten years to complete and would include extensive metal-preparation and fabrication work and even Eno DePasquale, of New Hampshire, designing and building a Grand Sport racing body taken from a design of Tunesi. All of this work would be completed in 2009.

Mr. Carroll would only get to use the car for a couple of years before failing health caused him to sell the car to a French collector who determined he wanted the original Saoutchik body recreated.

Patrick Delage of Auto Classique Touraine would be given the task and he would not overlook any detail of the car. In fact, the work would be to such a high degree of detail that it would earn high praise from experts the world over. It was as if those at Saoutchik had designed and built it themselves.

Offered for sale as part of RM Sotheby's 2015 Monterey auction, this 1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Cabriolet is sure not only to be a highlight but a show-stopper as well. It is certain to leave its new owner a bit more obvious than before buying the car.

Estimates for the Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Cabriolet ranged from $1,700,000 and $2,100,000.

By Jeremy McMullen

2015 RM Sotheby's : Monterey

Pre-Auction Estimates :
USD $1,700,000-USD $2,100,000 
Lot was not sold

1948 Talbot-Lago T-26 Auction Sales

Recent Sales of the Talbot-Lago T-26

(Data based on Model Year 1948 sales)
1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Coupé 'Chambas'
Chassis#: 110105
Sold for USD$2,385,365
  2023 Bonhams : Les Grandes Marques du Monde à Paris
1948 Talbot-Lago T-26 image  1948 Talbot-Lago T-26 image  
1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Record Sport Cabriolet Décapotable
Chassis#: 3179
Sold for USD$1,875,000
  2021 Bonhams : Quail Lodge
 
1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Record Cabriolet d'Usine
Chassis#: 101016
Sold for USD$165,118
  2019 RM Sothebys : Essen
 
1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Record Sport Coupe de Ville
Chassis#: 100238
Sold for USD$962,000
  2018 Bonhams : Quail Lodge
1948 Talbot-Lago T-26 image  1948 Talbot-Lago T-26 image  
1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Cabriolet by Franay
Chassis#: 110121
Sold for USD$1,252,240
  2017 RM Sothebys : Villa Erba
1948 Talbot-Lago T-26 image  1948 Talbot-Lago T-26 image  
1947 Talbot-Lago T26 Record Cabriolet d'Usine
Chassis#: 100064
Sold for USD$352,000
  2017 RM Auctions : Amelia Island
1948 Talbot-Lago T-26 image  1948 Talbot-Lago T-26 image  
1948 Talbot Lago T26 coach 'surprofilé'
Chassis#: 102008
Sold for USD$97,759
  2015 Rétromobile by Artcurial Motorcars
 
1948 Talbot Lago T26 Record Cabriolet par Saoutchik
Chassis#: 100272
Sold for USD$848,600
  2015 Rétromobile by Artcurial Motorcars
 
1948 TALBOT-LAGO T26 GRAND SPORT COUPE
Chassis#: 110106
Sold for USD$1,485,000
  2014 Bonhams Quail Lodge Auction
1948 Talbot-Lago T-26 image  1948 Talbot-Lago T-26 image  
1948 Talbot T26 Lago Record berline
Sold for USD$85,642
  2012 Artcurial Motorcars at Rétromobile
 
1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Record Cabriolet
Chassis#: 100449
Sold for USD$143,000
  2011 The Scottsdale Auction - Gooding & Company
1948 Talbot-Lago T-26 image  1948 Talbot-Lago T-26 image  
1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Record Cabriolet
Chassis#: 101016
Sold for USD$159,500
  2005 The Monterey Sports and Classic Car Auction
 
1948 Talbot-Lago T26C Grand Prix
Sold for USD$594,000
  2004 Vintage Motor Cars in Arizona
 
1948 TALBOT-LAGO 4 PASSENGER CABRIOLET
Sold for USD$85,250
  2001 Barrett-Jackson - Scottsdale 2001
 

Talbot-Lago T-26s That Failed To Sell At Auction

1948 Talbot-Lago T-26's that have appeared at auction but did not sell.
VehicleChassisEventHigh BidEst. LowEst. High
1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Record Three-Position Cabriolet Coachwork by Antem1010012024 Worldwide Auctioneers : Scottsdale   
1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Record Sport Coupe de Ville by Saoutchik1002382021 RM Sothebys : Amelia Island Auction $600,000$700,000
1948 TALBOT-LAGO T26 RECORD CABRIOLET BY GRABER1003512015 Keno Brothers : NY Auto$250,000$295,000$650,000
1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Cabriolet in the style of Saoutchik1101102015 RM Sotheby's : Monterey $1,700,000$2,100,000
1948 TALBOT LAGO 2008 Silver Auction Bellevue$145,000  
1948 TALBOT LAGO T 26 2008 Silver Auction Arizona in January$150,000  
1948 TALBOT - LAGO T26 DROPHEAD1030272007 Silver Auction Seattle$21,000  
1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Drophead Coupe 2007 Vintage Motor Cars in Arizona$130,000$175,000$225,000
1948 TALBOT-LAGO T26 DUBOS CABRIOLET 2006 Silver Auction Portland$22,000  

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1948 Talbot-Lago T-26

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