1939 Delage D8-120 S

Louis Delage was born in 1874 in Cognac, south of France. His family had a modest income which allowed him to attend and graduate from the Ecole des Arts et Metiers in Angers in 1893. He then moved to Paris and began working with the Turgan-Foy company. Later he accepted a position with Peugeot. He left soon after to start his own company. Louis Delage began designing and building cars in 1905 with Augustin Legros as his chief engineer. Legros had left Peugeot with Delage and stayed with the company until 1935. The company focused on building cars that were of high quality and reliability. Their first cars were produced in 1906 and were called the Type A and B. The cars were powered by single-cylinder de Dion engines producing about 6-7 horsepower.

Louis Delage was a very ambitious man. He had a passion for racing and a competitive edge that led him to produce some of the greatest sports cars of the era. In 1906 he participated in the Coupe des Voiturettes and was awarded a second-place finish. This accomplished fueled sales. In 1908 he had three cars enter in the Coupe des Voiturettes race where they achieved a first-place victory.

In 1909 Delage moved away from the de Dion engines and began using their own 4-cylinder engine. However, some of the models they produced did use engines produced by the famous engine supplier, Ballot.

Throughout the years, Delage had many successes in the racing arena. Sadly, it was not enough. In 1935, their fortunes change. The company closed due to bankruptcy and was bought by Walter Watney, the owner of used Delage car dealerships in Paris. A machine tool company purchased the main factory in Courdevoie. Delahaye, another famous automobile manufacturer of the time, bought the rights to manufacture cars under the Delage name.

In 1937 the D8-100/120 was introduced at the Paris Auto Show. The D8-100 was a long-wheelbase version while the D8-120 used a shortened wheelbase.

The D8 120 was outfitted with coachwork done by famous coachbuilders such as Chapron, Pourtout, and Letourner et Marchand. At the front was a very larger and imposing radiator. Hidden underneath the hood was a powerful, eight-cylinder engine that gave this vehicle a reputation as being a fast, high-performance automobile.

This D8 120 was built after the merger with Delahaye. Even though it retained its Delage styling, there are Delahaye influences. A Delahaye-style chassis was used that included a transverse-leaf independent front suspension and a Cotal electromagnetic gearbox.

The Aerosport was the highlight of the D8 line-up. It was designed by Marcel Letourner, the son of Letourner. In 1939, the design was selected to represent part of the French government's automotive display at the World's Fair in New York.

The Pourtout Aero Coupe was penned by Georges Paulin for the French coachbuilder Pourtout. Paulin had a resume that included designs for Darl'Mat, Bently, and other famous European marques.

The flamboyant yet elegant designs created by Delage were futuristic and sexy. It is unfortunate that their production was limited; however, it does guarantee the vehicle's exclusivity by today's standards.

by Daniel Vaughan | May 2010

Letourner et Marchand of Paris, France, bodied around twenty Delage D8-120s in two styles, a fastback and notchback coupe. The fastbacks were sporty while the Aerosport Notchback Coupes favored elegance and luxury. These cars were given long bonnets to conceal the eight-cylinder engine that lay beneath. The bodies were well-proportioned and flew gracefully into the vehicle running boards. The headlights were integrated into the fenders.

One of the Aerosport D8-120 with coachwork by Letourneur et Marchand was displayed at the 1939 World's Fair in New York. The term, Aerosport, represented the fastback roof design.

by Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2007