1947 Delahaye Type 135 M Roadster

Delahaye built its first automobile in 1894, initially based at Tours, before moving to Paris in 1906. Commercial vehicles were soon added to its catalouge, and up to the mid-1930s, its products tended to be rather lacklustre. The first of a new generation of Delahaye vehicles arrived in 1935, changing the company's image and providing the performance and mechanical sophistication to compete and win in the world's most grueling and prestigious racing events. The Delahaye placed 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th places in the run-to-sportscar-regulations 1936 French Grand Prix, won the Monte Carlo Rally and Le Mans 24-Hour Race outright in 1939, and the Donington 12-Hour Sports Car Race in 1938.

The Delahaye T135 was powered by an engine that had first appeared in one of the company's commercial vehicles. The 3.2-liter, six-cylinder unit had overhead valves, triple Solex carburetors, and produced 110 horsepower. The chassis consisted of a transverse-leaf independent front suspension and rode on center-lock wire wheels fitted in front of Bendix brakes. The transmission was either a four-speed synchromesh or Cotal gearbox.

Alphonse Guilloré was a coachbuilder based in the Parisian suburb of Courbevoie, and was renowned for his convertible and saloon bodies. Between 1937 and 1949, he created limited runs of sporting roadsters for a select clientele, and was often tasked with creating designs for one-off bespoke examples for motor show exhibitions. One of the convertibles he created was shown at the Paris Motor Show in 1946, and its modern lines and streamlined appearance would inspire an additional three designs penned for the 1947 show. One of the latter is believed to have been displayed at the Geneva Motor Show of 1947 on the stand of Albert Goy, the Swiss importer (but has since disappeared). Two of the three 1947 designs survived, one of which is chassis number 800544.

This Delahaye, chassis number 800544, is a Type 135 M with roadster coachwork by Guillore. It was registered on June 16, 1947, to Etablissements Levavasseur, and a few years later, in 1950, it was registered to the Couach naval shipyard in Arcachon in the Gironde. The following decade, it was registered to Jacques Claverie, owner of a department store in Perpignan, Pyrénées Orientales. In 1975, following an ownership change, it was registered to Jean Reusse in Perpignan. It remained in the care of M. Reusse until July 25th, 2017. (Around 1975, the original Type 5 S 103 single-carburettor engine number '800544' was up-rated with triple carburettors)

The new owner undertook an extensive restoration, which was entrusted to Jean-Luc Bonnefoy's Concept et Restauration workshops in Orval. The wooden body structure was restored by specialists Marcadier. The car was completely dismantled, every detail was restored, and it was returned to its original specification (albeit, except for the triple carburetor setup) with the intent in participating in the most prestigious international concours competitions.

This car was brought to Bonha's Les Grandes Marques du Monde à Paris auction in 2023 and then to Broad Arrow's auction at Amelia Island in 2024.

By Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2024