1937 Delahaye 135M Competition Roadster

This Delahaye 135M Competition Court Roadster rests on a lightweight and short chassis. 30 of these variants are believed to have been built. This example was completed in May of 1937 and registered in Paris under the license plate '7671 RL.' After it was sold, it received the post-war plate '1334 DZ 76' and was by then the property of Monsieur Ihnno 'Jacques' Ezratty of Paris. The next owner was 'Robert De Negre' of Paris who acquired it in 1960. Its last Paris owner was Gaston Garino's antique car agency on Rue des Bas Rogers in Surenes.

It was owned by another unknown caretaker before being acquired by Mr. 'Ng' on November 3rd of 1980. From here, the Delahaye migrated to America and into the care of Mark and Annie Shetler of Tustin, California. After a restoration, the burgundy livery with cream fender car was shown at the 1982 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

Mr. Shelter passed away in the late 1980s and the car was sold Michel Seydoux of France. It appears Mr. Seydoux repainted the car in a single white color. In the early 1990s, it entered the Don Williams collection and was brought back to the United States. In 1992 the car was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in class P. After the show, additional work included a repaint in a royal blue paint scheme and refurbishment of the cosmetics.

Mr. Williams sold the car to Oscar Davis, who exchanged it with the current owner in 1996. Recently, it has received a thorough detailing with a new interior in biscuit hide and top in sand cloth, piped in brown.

The car was shown in 2017 at the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance where it was awarded the People's Choice award.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2019

Delahaye originated in 1845 to produce brick-making machinery. Emile Delahaye was a railroad engineer who designed rolling stock for the French and Belgian railroads. He built his first car in 1895 and took over Delage in 1935, a maker of elegant cars and a company with an established clientele who demanded both performance and elegance. The Type 135M first presented at the 1934 Paris Salon (just prior to the merger of the two companies) provided the perfect foundation for flamboyant coachwork. The agile chassis combined with a 3.5-liter, 130-horsepower six-cylinder engine topped with three Solex carburetors and mated to a Cotal 4-speed electric-shift transmission made for a wonderfully competitive racing car.

A total of 2,592 were produced from 1935-1952. Equipped with a special Grand Prix competition engine, this is one of six examples built. A. Guillore, Carrossier was located in Courbevoie, France, and was best known for producing exclusive designs on Delage, Delahaye, Bugatti, and Talbot-Lago chassis from 1937-1951.