1948 Talbot-Lago T-26 Grand Sport Coupe

The very first Grand Sport chassis to emerge from the Talbot-Lago factory went to Jacques Saoutchik on July 10, 1948. He built a striking fastback coupe, and the completed car was shown on his stand at the Paris Auto Show that fall. Five more Grand Sports were bodied with Fastback Coupes by Saoutchik, one more with a low roofline like that of the first, and another four, including this car, which had a slightly higher roof. This car, the first to get the higher roof, was shown for three consecutive years, from 1949 through 1951, at the Concours d'Elegance Automobile at Enghien les Bains, and it also appeared at a concours in Rouen in 1952. Apart from the three-piece grille and striking perforated wheel discs, the car had little additional decoration, allowing the flowing lines to speak for themselves. The first owner is listed as Mr. Currie, but nothing is known about him. The car was discovered in Paris in 1961 by Jim Bandy, an American USAF serviceman, who soon sold it to a U.S. Air Force sergeant who took it to the States. Author Clive Cussler purchased the car in 1978 and featured it in his novel Deep Six.