1939 Delage D8-120

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 changed. 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. Also in 1935, a new Delage sales and marketing company, SNAD, was established. Following the reorganization, Delahaye focused on motorsports and performance while Delage catered to the luxury market. Beginning in January of 1936, work began on a new eight-cylinder chassis intended to carry the most luxurious coachwork. Among the list of talented craftsmen who applied their trade to the Delage chassis were 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.

The existing 3,227 cc six-cylinder engine that powered the successful Delahaye 135 model was re-engineered as Delage's 4.3-liter eight-cylinder, and paired with a Cotal electromagnetic preselect gearbox.

The first D8 to be produced at the Delahaye Paris under the new arrangements with Delahaye was the D8-100 with a 4,302cc engine with a fiscal horsepower rating of 25 CV (90 horsepower initially, growing to 105 horsepower at 3,500 RPM by 1937). The D8-100 rested on either a 143- (3630mm) or 132-inch (3350mm) wheelbase. Production of the D8-100 lasted from 1936 to 1940.

The Delage D8-120 was shown at the Paris Motor Show in October of 1937 and was very similar to its D8-100 sibling, but delivered more power thanks to its larger cylinder bore (by 4mm). It developed 120 horsepower at 4,500 RPM and used the four-speed Cotal Preselect gearbox, and hydraulic drum brakes.

Production of the D8-100 continued through 1940. After World War II came to a close, production of the six-cylinder Delages resumed, however, the eight-cylinder D8 was not a part of its catalog anymore.

by Dan Vaughan

Coupe by Vanvooren
Chassis number: 51618

Louis Delage was born in 1874 in the Cognac region of France. His initial foray into the automotive industry was with Peugeot, however, it was not long before he left there to open a company of his own. Delage had a passion for racing. He entered early competitions, using four-cylinder engines his company had developed.

The Delage D8-120 was first launched after the merger between Delage and the rival Delahaye Company. The D8-120 has an 8-cylinder, 4.7-liter engine developed from the 6-cylinder Delahaye 135 and mated to a Cotal pre-selector gearbox.

Despite his best efforts, Delage went bankrupt in 1935. They were purchased by Delahaye, and the D8 was one of the early offspring from the merger. It carries a 4.7-liter eight-cylinder engine, developed from the six-cylinder Delahaye 135. It also uses a Cotal pre-selector gearbox.

In many ways, the coachwork on this Delage is similar to the Letourner et Marchand-bodied Delage Aerosport Coupe although Vanvooren was a little more restrained. This is one of the last of the D8-120s built before World War II intervened, and although Delage returned after the war only a single D8-120 was built in 1947.

Cabriolet by Henri Chapron
Chassis number: 51980
Engine number: 51980

This luxurious cabriolet, bodied by master coachbuilder Henri Chapron, has at its base one of the last of the D8-120 series chassis to be built before World War II ended production. The chassis (51980) was built in 1939, but it remained unsold and was hidden in Paris throughout the ensuing conflict.

In 1946, the chassis was finally fitted with the body it deserved - a body with long flowing lines and subtle curves, accented by Valentine Capri blue paintwork and rich red fender skirts.

The completed car was breathtaking to behold, a thing of beauty that not only caught the eye, but kept it. And that was no accident; Delahaye had ordered the special cabriolet for its display at the 1946 Paris Auto Show. But its appearance there has not been confirmed.

It seems the car remained in the possession of Delahaye until July 1948, when it was shipped overseas to Egypt. Its history abroad is uncertain, but it eventually passed into the hands of auto aficionado Roger Grier in the United States. It was subsequently owned by Cal Bedell, Manny Dragone, Alfredo Brenner, and Dr. Joseph A. Murphy. Tony Vincent purchased the car a few years back and has completely restored it.

In addition to its fine chassis and beautiful body, this car's interior is also note-worthy. The fine wood-grained dashboard has a full complement of instruments dominated by a Jaeger tachometer and speedometer. Beside the steering wheel is the Cotal shifter. A novelty of these gearboxes is the ability to use all four gears in reverse!

Cabriolet by Henri Chapron

This late model Delage D8-120 has a 4.3-liter, eight-cylinder engine on the short wheelbase Delahaye 135 chassis. The Delage and Delahaye companies had merged in 1935 and therefore shared many components. Their chassis attracted the latest styles of coachwork from all of the top European carrossiers, including Figoni, Franay, Labourdette and Chapron, which designed and built this cabriolet. They were extremely expensive in their day, selling for over 105,000 French Francs. This very original car was bought by its current owner in 1995.

Cabriolet by Henri Chapron
Chassis number: 51760
Engine number: 51760

Henri Chapron built this cabriolet on the second series of the D8-120, which had a lower and lighter chassis than its predecessor. The D8-120 has an inline, 8-cylinder, 4.5-liter engine with overhead valves mated to the 4-speed Cotal electronic gearbox. The car's early history was colorful: it was appropriated by a French general of the Vichy government who was known to be a German collaborator. In 1946, the general sent the car to California but was unable to obtain a visa for himself, so he went to Argentina and sold the car to RKO Studios. The Delage was featured in several films, including the 1951 classic An American in Paris, in which Gene Kelly and Nina Foch are chauffeured around Paris. The producers sent the car to Chapron to make a few changes, including repainting it. In 1955, it was acquired by Thol 'Si' Simonson, the RKO special effects artist who made George Reeves fly in the Adventures of Superman. Mr. Simonson sold the Delage to its current owner in 1987.

Louis Delage was born in 1874 and was handicapped by blindness in one eye. This handicap would not hinder him at all in creating some of the most elegant and beautiful creations of the pre-WWII era, and into the early 1950s. He acquired his engineering abilities while working for Peugeot. He worked with the company until 1905 when he left to build cars bearing his own name.

Delage had strong loyalty to France, and he endeavored to build cars that would bring honor to his country. He began racing in 1906 and acquired some success. By 1913, he had constructed a worthy racing machine to claim the Grand Prix de France. His racing machines continued to evolve. In 1914, they featured double overhead camshafts and brakes on all four wheels.

Rene Thomas drove a Delage in the 1914 Indianapolis 500 where he emerged victoriously. In 1924, he set a land speed record at just over 143 mph.

During World War I, the newly built factory in Courbevoie was used for the production of military items.

During the mid-1920s, the Delage cars were powered by an eight-cylinder engine displacing 1.5-liters. In 1927, Robert Benoist drove a Delage with an inline-eight cylinder engine to a victory at the Grand Prix de France, Spanish Grand Prix, British Grand Prix at Brooklands, and the Grand Prix de l'Europe at Monza. After this brilliant accomplishment, Delage announced his retirement from racing.

Delage had left the sport on a high note, but there were troubled times in its future. The Great Depression rattled many industries, including the automotive world. By 1935, Delage had felt the strains of this painful time in history and was forced to enter liquidation. A Delage dealer named Walter Watney purchased the company's assets. This proved to be a pipe dream for Watney, and soon was looking for aid from an automotive partner who could help bear the costs of engineering, development, and manufacturing. Luckily, he found the assistance he was searching for - at Delahaye. An agreement was reached which allowed the Delage name to continue.

The first new product from this union was the D8-120. Mounted in the long, graceful bonnets were an eight-cylinder engine. The engine was basically a Delahaye 135MS six with two additional cylinders. Some of Europe's greatest coachbuilders were tasked with creating designs for the chassis. The list includes Saoutchik, Chapron, Pourtout, and Letourner et Marchand.

The Delage D8's were very impressive automobiles that had style and glamour in a high-performance package. Though the economic disparity of the time begged Delage to move down market, the company refused and continued to produce its high-priced machines.

The Delage D8-120 had hydraulic brakes, Cotal electromagnet gearbox, and a suspension comprised of transverse leaf springs in the front. The 4.3-liter eight-cylinder engine was capable of producing nearly 100 horsepower in unmodified guise.

The Delage D8-100 was a long-wheelbase version of the short-wheelbase D8-120. Both the D8-100 and D-120 were built as a conventional rolling chassis and supplied to the coachbuilders for completion. The coachbuilders would often construct the final product to the exact specifications and requirements supplied by the customer. Because of this, many of the vehicles and their specifications vary considerably. Prior to World War II, around 100 examples were created.

Production of the Delage vehicles continued until 1953.

by Dan Vaughan