1930 Bucciali TAV 3 La Marie Torpedo Sport Type Cannes

TAV3 was originally built in 1927 under the name TAV2, with a shorter frame, four-cylinder Cime engine, and Sensaud de Lavaud gearbox. The following year it was reworked as TAV3, with a Continental in-line eight-cylinder engine and a transverse gearbox, mounted in the fashion of Ruxton and Cord, ahead of the front axles. TAV3's most unusual feature was that the driven front wheels were independently sprung, using spheres running in ball bearings at the hubs of the wheels. TAV3 continued to evolve, its numbering changing over and over as it carried no fewer than six different bodies and was shown at no fewer than three Paris Salons. The car was exhibited to American automakers in late 1929 and early 1930, including the New York Auto Show, and numerous factories up and down the East Coast. After its showings TAV3 returned to Paul Albert Bucciali. It remained in his possession until 1960.

This Bucciali TAV 30 La Marie Torpedo Sport Type Cannes began life as TAV 3, also known as 'La Marie', wearing a touring car body. It was sent to the United States on December 18th, 1929, and arrived at the Port of New York on December 28th. That afternoon, Angelo and Paul-Albert had meetings with Mercer, Willys, and Duesenberg. A few days later, on January 6th of 1930, la Marie was on display at the New York Motor Show where additional meetings were held with Chrysler, Graham-Paige, Hupmobile, and Ruxton.

The brothers then brought the Bucciali to the offices of Du Pont Motors in Massachusetts, Chrysler in Detroit, Studebaker in South Bend, Indiana, Willys-Overland in Toledo, Ohio, and then General Motors in Detroit.

The final stop of the journey was at Peerless in Cleveland, Ohio on February 8. By the summer of 1930, La Marie was back in France after having established a licensing agreement with Peerless. Labourdette was commissioned to build a roadster body of his design for the chassis, and the newly bodied vehicle was displayed at the Paris Salon in October. In December, it returned to America with revised rear suspension and improved front-wheel drive technology. It made its way to prominent auto shows, including the Motor Show in New York and then Chicago. By January 17th, 1931, the car was back at Peerless in Cleveland. By June of 1931, Peerless was out of business and the Peerless traction avant became another still-born project.

La Marie was sent back to France and shown a final time at the Paris Salon in October 1931 wearing a closed body by Guillet. This body was of very poor quality and the car was removed from the stand after the opening of the Salon, and the chassis was re-fitted with the 1929 four-seat configuration and sixteen-cylinder type front fenders before returning to the show stand.

After the Paris Salon, the TAV 30 chassis was stored until 1940 by Paul-Albert Bucciali at 8 avenue Gambetta in Courbevoie. It was then moved to 7 rue Honoré d'Estienne d'Orves in Évry-Courcouronnes south of Paris where it remained until 1954, and then 60 avenue de la Défense until 1960.

Paul-Albert had kept the Labourdette roadster body from 1943, and in 1947, the body was fitted to the Mathis chassis for Paul-Albert's personal use. In 1960, all of the Buccialis that Paul-Albert Bucciali owned were acquired by Serge Pozzoli and Jacques Rousseau for 1 franc. This included La Marie and the Mathis as the garage was being expropriated.

Pozzoli stored the cars at his premises at 49 rue Petit in Paris until 1965, when the Mathis was sold to Francis Mortarini and sent La Marie to him for restoration. The TAV 30 chassis came back to rue Petit in 1966 with no work having been done. La Marie was sold by Pozzoli in 1969 to an American named Ray Jones, along with numerous parts, front drive train, and the sides of the 'stork' bonnet from the Bucciali TAV 8-32 that had superseded La Marie.

The Mathis went to Fritz Schlumpf and was gifted by him to its current owner on February 28, 1991. The Mathis currently wears the Labourdette roadster body.

In 1971, Jones sold the complete TAV 30 chassis to a German collector and Bugattiste Uwe Hucke. After several years, a restoration commenced including mounting a Saoutchik convertible body from a Mercedes 680S whose chassis had been shortened to create an SSK.

In 1985, Hucke sold La Marie to the Blackhawk Museum Collection, and around that time, the Blackhawk also acquired the stork bonnet sides off the TAV 8-32.

This Bucciali was originally built in 1927 under the name TAV2, and has been known by chassis number 101 and TAV8. It has been labeled as TAV30, TAV3, and 'La Marie.'

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2021