1939 Talbot-Lago T150 C

The French-based Talbot-Lago Company was founded in 1936 and would produce a variety of automobiles, including sport and racing cars, through its demise in 1959, when it was sold to Simca. It was founded by an Italo-British businessman named Antonio Lago, who had been appointed managing director of Automobiles Talbot in 1932. Like many businesses of the era, Automobiles Talbot suffered from the Great Depression. By 1934, the company was in receivership, but the receiver did not immediately close Automobiles Talbot. In 1936, Antonio Lago managed to complete a management buy-out from the receiver.

The Talbot-Lago sporting chassis would become the platform for some of the most enduringly beautiful automobiles of all time, particularly those examples clothed by Figoni et Falaschi and Pourtout. A consummate showman, Lago staged memorable promotional events for his new cars and would prove their superior performance through motorsport competition.

The Genesis
At the dawn of the automobile, in 1893, three early French automobile pioneers named Darracq, Serpollet, and Clement joined together to form Société Darracq et Cie in Suresnes, a suburb of Paris. As a new century began to unfold, Darracq automobiles were being sold in many countries.

As the marketplace continued to evolve, it became more important for automobile manufacturers to consolidate in order to share resources, reduce costs, and streamline production. Thus, in 1922, the Sunbeam Motor Company, Ltd. Of Wolverhampton, England, was acquired by the English Darracq Company. Renamed Sunbeam Talbot Darracq Motors Ltd., it was now under the control of the French Darracq company – which had been renamed Automobiles Talbot S.A..

Engineer Louis Coatalen, who had joined Sunbeam in 1909, remained the director and, continuing his passion for racing, immediately began building a new Sunbeam racing design. By 1921, STD fielded a pair of 3-liter straight eight-cylinder racing cars in that year's Indianapolis 500. Two cars were entered as Sunbeams (one would finish the race in fifth place) and another as a Talbot-Darracq, but all three were identical except for the radiator badges. At the French Grand Prix at Le Mans, three Talbot-Darracqs, two Sunbeams, and two Talbots would be entered (again, identical except for badging). Along with motorsport competition, the cars built by Coatalen captured five world land speed records from 1925 to 1927.

At the 1930 edition of the 24 Hours of LeMans, two Talbots placed third and fourth. By this point, Georges Roesch was the individual responsible for Talbot's engineering. He had the lofty goal of building the fastest and most dependable sports car ever created. Contrary to traditional practices, his sports car would be among the quietest on the road. To accomplish these tasks, Mr. Roesch used lightweight materials and focused on reducing noise and vibration. Although the engines were often smaller than the competition, they were finely tuned with higher rev limits and higher compression. The high compression ratio of 8.5 to 1 was soon followed up by the 90 Series engine which had 10 to 1 compression. In 1928, Talbot featured the first pressurized cooling system ever offered in an automobile.

The 105 Series of 1930 utilized a 3-liter, six-cylinder engine that delivered 140 horsepower at 4,500 RPM (in racing guise). Comparatively, the TYpe 35 Bugatti produced 135 horsepower. Despite its competition success and impressive range of products, sales did not reflect these achievements. By 1933, their French sales branch in Suresnes was headed towards receivership, and Sunbeam- Talbot-Darracq was nearing a similar fate. This was when an ambitious Anglo-Italian engineer named Anthony Lago got involved and set about reviving the beleaguered companies.

Antonio Franco Lago
Anthony Lago was born in Venice, Italy, on March 28, 1893, and established himself in the automotive industry in 1920s London. He was a shrewd and charismatic businessman and a consummate showman who recognized an opportunity to wrest control of Automobiles Talbot-Darracq S.A.. Securing control of the French automaker, he set about revitalizing the historic marque to his own vision.

Talbot-Lago T150
At the Paris Motor Show in October 1934, Anthony Lago introduced the Talbot-Lago T150 Grand Sport wearing elegant coachwork designed by Joseph Figoni. Beneath its curvaceous bonnet was a robust inline six-cylinder engine developed by lead engineer Walter Becchia and the innovative Wilson four-speed pre-selector gearbox, for which Lago conveniently held the patent rights.

Elegant designs, sophisticated mechanical componentry, and competition success helped stimulate sales. In 1936, the Talbot-Lago T150 C competition cars were built to the ACF's new 4-liter formula and campaigned by an accomplished list of drivers that included Luigi Chinetti and Ren Dreyfus.

Lago's ultimate sporting chassis was introduced in 1936 at the Paris Salon, known today as the T150-C (competition). It was powered by a new 4.0-liter (3996cc) engine designed by Becchia with inclined overhead valves set in hemispherical combustion chambers, opened by crossed pushrods controlled by a single camshaft high in the block. This arrangement improved volumetric efficiency and breathing. With three carburetors, the engine produced approximately 140 horsepower, but many customers opted for the 165 bhp works team specification with high compression pistons.

The engine was installed in a low-slung, short-wheelbase chassis that was very similar to the company's competition cars. The suspension was comprised of independent transverse leaf-springs at the front, and an underslung rear axle with leaf springs. Addition features included a large 120-liter fuel tank, a single-shot lubrication system, four-wheel drum brakes, and Rudge knock-off wire wheels.

The Talbot Lagto T150C was one of the quickest and best-handling cars money could buy. Including the SS versions, approximately 51 examples of the T150 Cs were produced. The 'SS', taken from the English phrase 'Super Sport,' represented the short wheelbase (2.65m / 2650mm / 104.33 inch) chassis and was generally reserved for the company's racing programs. The longer 2.954 chassis was called the 'Lago Speciale' and was mechanically identical to the SS. Its larger size allowed it to accommodate more luxurious coachwork, and despite its size, it was just 130 kg heavier than the SS.

The sophisticated chassis received equally impressive coachwork by many prominent coachbuilders of the era. Among them was a series of coupes created by Joseph Figoni and Ovidio Falaschi and known as the Teardrop or 'goutte d'eau' (drop of water) coupes. It is believed that sixteen examples of the Figoni coupés were built with two slightly different body styles. The first car, referred to as the 'Jeancart' - named after the first owner, a French businessman named M. Jeancart - was an aerodynamic coupé with a long streamlined rear. Five of these cars were built either on the short C-SS chassis or on the Lago Speciale, with one car built on a T23 chassis. Included in this series was chassis number 90101, which placed third at Le Mans in 1938. Chassis number 90034 finished first in its class in the 1948 24 Hours of Spa. The cars of the 'second series' are known as the New York design, named after the first chassis (90103), which was the 1937 New York Show car. Except for one car on a T23 chassis, these were all T150-C short chassis cars. It is believed that ten to twelve Type 9220 Goutte du Eau coupes were built between 1937 and 1938.

Carrosserie Marcel Pourtout built approximately four aerodynamic bodies for the Talbot-Lago T150, with styling handled by their top designer, Georges Paulin, who had earlier sketched a one-of-a-kind Bentley coupe for Andre Embiricos.

by Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2006