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1937 Talbot-Lago T150C SS

The Goutte d'Eau, or teardrop, is justly regarded as one of the most beautiful and enticing designs of all time. The serene perfection of its lines is used as a reference point against which all other late-1930s automobiles are measured.

The history dates back many decades earlier, to 1893, when three early French automobile pioneers named Darracq, Serpollet, and Clement banded to form Société Darracq et Cie in Suresnes, a suburb of Paris. By the turn of the century, Darracq's reach had grown considerably, and its automobiles were being sold in many countries. In 1905, the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot financed the creation of an English company named S. A. Darracq Ltd. to represent the firm in Great Britain. Around this time, the Sunbeam Motor Company, Ltd. of Wolverhampton, England, was establishing a racing program that eventually grew into a dominant force by 1909 when an engineer named Louis Coatalen joined the firm.

The world changed considerably in the decades that followed, with many manufacturers consolidating in order to reduce costs, streamline production, and share resources. By the early 1920s, the English Darracq company had acquired Sunbeam, and the resulting company was renamed Sunbeam Talbot Darracq Motors Ltd., and it now controlled the French Darracq company – which had been renamed Automobiles Talbot S.A.. Sunbeam's Louis Coatalen remained the director and immediately set about building a new Sunbeam racing design. The new race car, equipped with a 3-liter straight-eight engine, raced at the 1921 Indianapolis 500. A total of three examples were entered with two wearing Sunbeam badges and the third a Talbot-Darracq. They were identical except for the radiator nameplates. One of the cars with the Sunbeam badge placed 5th overall.

The engineering mastermind behind the Talbot was Georges Roesch and coupled with the ambitions of Coatalen, five new land speed records were set between 1925 and 1927. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1930, two Talbots placed third and fourth.

The engines built by Roesch were engineering marvels, with much higher resolutions and compression than the competition. While most considered the maximum revolutions to be in the 5,000 range, Roesch developed an engine that reached 6,000 RPM and had a compression ratio of 8.5 to 1. In 1928, Talbot featured the first pressurized cooling system ever offered in an automobile. The 90 Series engine that followed achieved a compression ratio of 10 to 1. The 105 Series engine of 1930 was a 3.0-liter, six-cylinder unit that produced 140 horsepower at 4,500 (in racing configuration).

The company's success was reserved for motorsports and was not reciprocated in the salesroom. Financial problems were compounded by the poor economy and the Great Depression, and by 1933, the French sales branch in Suresnes was nearing bankruptcy and the factory there was in even worse shape. An Italo-British businessman named Antonio Lago was appointed managing director in hope of reviving Automobiles Talbot's business. Despite his efforts, was unable to stave off receivership beyond the end of 1934. Automobiles Talbot was not immediately closed, and in 1936 Lago secured a management buy-out from the receivership.

Major Anthony Lago
Antonio Franco Lago was born on March 28th, 1893, in Paris. He served in the Italian Army during World War I and achieved the rank of major, Mr. Lago began his career in the automobile industry selling Italian-built Isotta-Fraschini automobiles in London. The Isotta-Fraschini's were among the finest cars of its era, with world-class craftsmanship, superb engineering, and elegant styling. These qualities, without a doubt, made a lasting impression on Lago.

Major Lago worked in various automotive engineering apprenticeships throughout London, including at Sunbeam. While working at Wilson, he assisted in the final development of the preselector gearbox and later acquired the foreign distribution rights to the Wilson gearbox and subsequently use it in his own cars. By the early 1930s, many companies were using the Wilson gearboxes including Isotta-Fraschini, Talbot, MG, Invicta, Daimler, Crossley, Standard, and Armstrong-Siddeley.

During 1932, Major Lago was a part of the Armstrong-Siddeley works team and competed in the Alpine Trials, before joining the struggling Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq firm by the end of the year. He quickly rose to the position of assistant director.

In 1933, Lago moved to France to manage the French subsidiary of S.T.D. Motors, Automobiles Talbot S.A. At the time, its plants were antiquated and its products were again. Grand Prix racing had been expensive and led to heavy borrowing, eventually forcing Automobiles Talbot S.A. into receivership at the end of 1934. Lago converted his rights to export Wilson gearboxes into an option to acquire the factory and its plant and machinery at Suresnes. Rootes bought the English side of Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq and in mid-1936, Lago and his investors acquired the French business of Automobiles Talbot S.A. and S.T.D. Motors were liquidated.

Talbot-Lago
The first Talbot-Lago built under Major Lago's ownership featured engineering prowess courtesy of a newly hired engineer named Walter Becchia. It was based on a three-liter Talbot-Darracq K78 which offered adequate power for utilitarian driving but was severely lacking in regards to motorsports or to carry heavy coachwork.

The next engine designed by Brecchia was based on the seven-main bearing six-cylinder K78 block but with a displacement size of four liters. It received a new cylinder head with a hemispherical design which improved both volumetric efficiency and breathing. The valve gear was actuated by a low-set camshaft with crossed pushrods acting through both long and short rocker arms. With assistance from a pair of Solex carburetors, the engine offered 140 horsepower at 4,200 RPM.

With a proper engine, racing experience, and a great deal of salesmanship, Lago was able to persuade French racing driver René Dreyfus to manage his new Talbot-Lago race team. In 1936, at the French Grand Prix at Montlhéry, all three Talbot-Lago race cars finished in the top ten. Further development and evolution resulted in a first, second, third and fifth place finish at the French Grand Prix a year later. Numerous victories followed, including at Tourist Trophy races at Donnington Park, and a first place in the 1938 Monte Carlo Rally. During the latter part of the decade, success on the international Grand Prix scene was hampered due to the omnipotent German Mercedes-Benz and Auto-Union teams. Nevertheless, their reliability, durability, and impressive performance allowed them to remain competitive against the more potent and well-funded teams.

Talbot-Lago T150
Talbot-Lago's engine, proven on the world's greatest racing stages, would become the basis for a new chassis. At the Paris Motor Show in October of 1934, Lago introduced a new prototype called the Talbot-Lago T150 Grand Sport. It wore coachwork designed by Joseph Figoni and was powered by a Becchia-developed inline six-cylinder engine backed by a Wilson pre-selector gearbox. The ultimate iteration was introduced at the 1936 Paris Salon and is known today as the T150-C-SS. Beneath its graceful bonnet was a new 4.0-liter engine with a light-alloy Hemi cylinder head, breathing through carburetors and delivering 140 horsepower at 4,100 RPM. It rested on a low-slung, short-wheelbase chassis which was nearly identical to the company's competition cars, with an independent transverse leaf-spring front suspension and an underslung rear axle. It had a large 120-liter fuel tank, Rudge knock-off wire wheels, and a single-shot lubrication system. Drum brakes at all four corners provided the stopping power.

The 'SS' or 'Super Sport' chassis measured 2.65m and was used as the basis for the company's racing programs. Most of the road-going examples wore two or three-place coachwork. The longer 2.95m chassis was called the 'Lago Speciale' and was mechanically identical to the SS, but its larger footprint made it more suitable for more luxurious coachwork.

Talbot-Lago sold the T150-C-SS as a rolling chassis with a list price of 78,000 francs. It was produced from 1937 through 1939 and clothed by a variety of coachbuilders, including Figoni et Falaschi.

Figoni et Falaschi
Joseph (Giuseppe ) Figoni's family had left northern Italy to relocate to a suburb of Paris known as Boulogne-sur-Seine. He graduated from a vocational school in 1908 and apprenticed for coachbuilder Lavocat et Marsaud before starting his own carrosserie in 1923, gaining notoriety for his lightweight and sporty coachwork. During the early 1930s, Figoni created coachwork for the Alfa Romeo 8C 23000s that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1932 and 1933.

In 1935, an Italian financier named Ovidio Falaschi became a partner in the carrosserie, which was reorganized as Etablissements Figoni et Falaschi. This union provided Joseph Figoni with the capital to expand his operations, as well as the business expertise of Falaschi.

In 1936, Figoni created coachwork for a Delahaye 135 Roadster, which used design inspiration from automotive artist Geo Ham. Its breathtaking design, athletic stance, stately proportions, and sweeping lines would redefine automotive fashion. The streamlined styling would continue to progress and evolve, becoming the aerodynamic coupe that Figoni described as a faux cabriolet and now known as the Goutte d'Eau, or Teardrop.

Figoni built the Teardrop Coupe in two distinct variations with the first wearing a notchback design and dubbed Coupé Jeancart, after the customer who first commissioned the body style. The second iteration was a fastback design that was introduced in 1937 at the New York International Auto Show and named Modéle New York. Approximately 10 to 12 examples of the T150-C-SS chassis were clothed as Teardrop Coupes.


by Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2022

Related Reading : Talbot-Lago T150 History

Anthony Lago had taken over control of the Talbot factory in Suresnes after the merger with Sunbeam and Darracq had collapsed in 1936. By 1937 he had introduced a new line of vehicles, two of which were entered in the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans. He continued his racing endeavors by moving to single-seat racers and by 1939 a purpose-built Grand Prix car had been completed. The onset of World War....
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1937 Talbot-Lago T150C SS Vehicle Profiles

1937 Talbot-Lago T150C SS vehicle information
Teardrop Roadster

Coachwork: Figoni & Falaschi
Chassis #: 90115
1937 Talbot-Lago T150C SS vehicle information
Roadster

Coachwork: Figoni & Falaschi
Chassis #: 82928
1937 Talbot-Lago T150C SS vehicle information
Cabriolet

Coachwork: Figoni & Falaschi
Chassis #: 90111
1937 Talbot-Lago T150C SS vehicle information
Coupe

Designer: Figoni & Falaschi
Chassis #: 90106
1937 Talbot-Lago T150C SS vehicle information
Coupe

Designer: Figoni & Falaschi
Chassis #: 90105
Engine #: 85019
1937 Talbot-Lago T150C SS vehicle information
Coupe

Designer: Figoni & Falaschi
Chassis #: 90103
Engine #: 85018
1937 Talbot-Lago T150C SS vehicle information
New York Teardrop Coupe

Coachwork: Figoni & Falaschi
Chassis #: 90105
1937 Talbot-Lago T150C SS vehicle information
Coupe

Designer: Figoni & Falaschi
Chassis #: 90107
Engine #: 173180 or 85021
Vin #: 90107
1937 Talbot-Lago T150C SS vehicle information
Coupe

Designer: Figoni & Falaschi
Chassis #: 90104

Recent Vehicle Additions

Performance and Specification Comparison

T150C SS

Specification Comparison by Year

Year
Production
Wheelbase
Engine
Prices
104.30 in., 104.33 in.
6 cyl., 243.85 CID., 140.00hp
120.50 in.
6 cyl., 243.85 CID., 110.00hp
104.33 in.
6 cyl., 243.85 CID., 140.00hp

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