1937 Peugeot 402 Darl Mat Roadster

Emile Darl'Mat was a Peugeot dealer in Paris who suggested a light, affordable sports car built on the Peugeot chassis and engine. George Paulin, a former dentist with a talent for automobile design, styled the aluminum body. Pourtout, a well-known French coach builder, was responsible for production. Paulin was famous for designing a number of significant motorcars throughout his short career, including the famous 'Embiricos' Bentley that raced at LeMans. He also styled a variety of sports cars fitted with retractable hard-tops known as the Eclipse Series, which defined the cars of the Art Deco era of the 1930s. The engine was tuned by Peugeot and fitted into a short chassis. A modified 2-liter Peugeot 302 chassis was used as the basis for a limited run of road and competition cars.

Four models were available including a coupe, roadster, convertible, and a race car. The race car and roadster were almost identical, and was the last model produced. Darl'Mats raced into the two-liter class at Le Mans in 1937 and 1938, where they finished fifth and eighth overall.

This particular example, part of the Tampa Bay Auto Museum, was delivered on the 29th of October in 1937 to a Mr. Kacher from Valence. Years later it was impounded by the Parisian police and purchased at auction in 1957. It has since been given a restoration to its original condition.

This 302 Darl'mat Roadster is one of 53 Roadsters that were built along with 20 Darl'mat coupes and 32 cabriolets.