Unique Delahaye
Clear history
In the collection for 52 years
French registration papers
Chassis no. 47612
Vehicle sold without technical inspection
A pioneer of the French automotive industry since the end of the 19th century, Delahaye was renowned for its magnificent luxury cars, but also built lorries and goods vehicles from 1894 to 1954. The company is unusual in that it never built its own bodies. All Delahaye’s cars therefore had bodies produced by other companies, either small workshops or famous coachbuilders such as Saoutchik, Chapron, Antem or Labourdette. The model presented here is one such car, chassis no. 47612, which was supplied to Labourdette in March 1936 and displayed at the Paris Motor Show in 1937. It is a Delahaye 148 L Aerodynamic saloon built on the basis of the “Vutotal” patent. This patent was conceived by Joseph Vigroux in 1936 and was intended to improve visibility and comfort for the driver and passengers. This was mainly achieved by dispensing with the pillars and frames normally located on each side of the windscreen and side windows.
The first owner of this car was in fact the Vutotal company, which probably used it to promote the patent that it had just been granted by the Ministry of Trade and Industry. In 1942, Vigroux registered the Delahaye in his own name, before selling it to the fire brigade at Saint-Maixent in the Vienne. Monsieur B bought the Delahaye in 1968, becoming its fourth owner. The car was then in need of a complete restoration. Photographs from the period show the saloon arriving on a trailer; the car had apparently undergone changes to its interior and bodywork, undoubtedly to meet the specific requirements of the fire brigade. The red paintwork can be clearly seen in the photographs, and on the application form to register the vehicle in 1958, the category is stated as: “Special vehicle for use with firefighting equipment”. The rear of the car had been modified:
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