1936 Delahaye 135 Competition Disappearing Top Convertible For Sale |
$POA |
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"This is one of the most elegant creations of Joseph Figoni and one of the most important Delahaye cars.” -André Vaucourt, Archivist, Club Delahaye France There is a beauty associated with competition cars; the form follows function, beauty of purpose, and performance. Often shaped by aerodynamic considerations, the most beautiful competition coachwork owes little or nothing to days of wind tunnel testing or hours of computational fluid dynamics simulations on computers. Instead beauty seems to be born from the insight of a sensitive individual who can “see air” and devise artistic ways to minimize its disruption as his creations flow down the highway. Other automobiles are conceived and bodied as seminal works of art, dramatic statements of exclusivity, even fantasy. Rarely do the two, a competitive racing chassis and engine and fantastic, imaginative, aerodynamic coachwork, come together in the same car. This Long Wheelbase 1936 Delahaye 135 Competition with Disappearing Top Convertible coachwork by Figoni et Falaschi is one of those few exceptional, fantastic automobiles. Built on Delahaye’s fast and reliable 135 Competition chassis, it is the beginning of Figoni’s famed streamlined convertibles, this magnificent car with disappearing top, one of Joseph Figoni’s marvels. France was the cradle of the automobile. Its early development thrived in the scientific, artistic environment of France. Its utility was easily demonstrated on the network of highways that linked Paris with the provinces, the sea, and France’s inland borders. One of the first makers to take advantage of the favorable conditions in France was Emile Delahaye. Delahaye was soon bought out and the new owners made two strategic hires, technical director Amédée Varlet and works manager Charles Weiffenbach, who would guide Delahaye for years. Others came along, drawn by the company’s reputation, notably engineer Jean François who designed the Type 138 Superluxe in 1933 with pushrod operated overhead valve inline six-cylinder engine that was modified, adapted, and improved to achieve competition success. The Type 138 was succeeded by the Jean François designed Type 135. Independent front suspension, a rugged frame, and precisely located live rear axle were the basis of the Type 135’s success along with a big and rare 3,557cc competition evolution of the Delahaye six-cylinder to supplement the normal 3,227cc engine. Versions proliferated with coachwork from teardrop fendered Competition models that could also expose their wheels to compete in formula events to luxurious coupés and cabriolets. The Delahaye 135’s competitiveness was regularly demonstrated including finishing second and third at Le Mans in 1937, then sweeping the Le Mans podium in 1938. Another 135 won the Monte Carlo Rallye the same year. For a gentleman in search of a high performance chassis for occasional competition and the basis on which to engage a great coachbuilder like Chapron, Graber or Figoni et Falaschi to create Concours coachwork, Delahaye was a serious alternative to Bugatti. That choice is evident in the decision of M. et Mme. Wolf of Paris to specify the Delahaye 135 long wheelbase competition chassis to give to Wolf’s friend Joseph Figoni at Figoni et Falaschi, Paris, to create this gorgeous combination of high performance chassis and beautiful coachwork. Figoni had proposed a new aerodynamic design and his friend Wolf accepted the opportunity to acquire a one-off streamlined example “piece unique” of Figoni’s genius. Giuseppe (Joseph) Figoni had apprenticed in a cart shop, establishing his own coachworks in Paris in 1923. He eventually partnered with Ovidio Falaschi who managed the business side of the enterprise leaving Figoni free to design and build the most beautiful, fantastic coachwork in France and the world. The design is one of Figoni’s best, effectively combining the Delahaye identity in the grille and hood with generous teardrop fenders flanking Marchal headlights tucked tightly to the grille and a pair of Marchal fog lights low below them. The fender shape is echoed at the rear with skirts enclosing the rear tires. Chrome accents highlight the fenders’ trailing edges matching the bright chrome accent sweeping back from the peak of the grille, down across the doors then filling the rear fender joint and small chrome spline down the rear deck. Wolf granted Figoni the privilege of showing his car and, having poor eyesight, often accompanied Figoni on tours. He appreciated the competitive aspects of his car, too, and it competed in the Monte Carlo Rallye in 1949 driven by Guy Mairesse and Paul Vallée, documented in a photograph received from Joseph Figoni’s son Claude who also remembers his father’s concern with making it perfect for his friend Wolf. Figoni was especially talented with complex mechanisms including the disappearing top which he perfected on this car. Completely out of sight, the clean line of the body with the three-position top stowed below the rear deck highlights the distinctive, sporting design and implicitly accentuates its recognition of the importance of aerodynamics. It is simply gorgeous. After the war its engine was updated at the factory – perhaps before the Monte Carlo Rallye – with the later 135M Competition cylinder block with improved cooling water distribution. It has been authenticated as the original body and chassis as built by Delahaye and Figoni et Falaschi in 1936 by André Vaucourt, archivist of the Delahaye Club in 2003 with subsequent additional confirming research. Vaucourt’s research and study of the car have confirmed that it is accurately equipped and configured in all respects. “…The chassis 46864 is correct in all respects.” -Club Delahaye France Archives In 1951, it was acquired by its second owner, Jacques Persin in Paris, then transferred to Peter Gogola in 1953. Gogola sold the car to the first owner living in the United States, Dr. Earl M. Heath, and subsequently there were five additional collector owners. It was restored by Hill & Vaughn in 1990-1993, with further work for the present owner by Alan Taylor Company and Hjeltness Restorations in Escondido, California. It has been featured in many publications including being the cover car for the August 2006 Robb Report. It is a multiple Classic Car Club of America winner, judged three times at 100 points and now is a Premier Winner and winner of CCCA’s Paul Cerf Memorial as well as numerous “Best of Show” awards. Equipped with three Solex 40PIA carburetors and a manual four-speed gearbox, the four-seat body has a set of custom luggage trunks that fit in the back seat for storage when the clever rear seat is folded down. Flawlessly presented in its dramatically deep bleu foncé with light grey ostrich leather piped in medium grey and dark blue top, the intricate engine turned dashboard, white-on-black instruments, and leaf spring spoke steering wheel mark this as a driver’s car, a driver with a refined sense of aesthetics and high standards of luxury and comfort. It is one of a kind, blending an internationally competitive chassis and engine with the sublime intuition and proportion of a genuine genius at conceiving and building wind-cheating luxury coachwork. A superlative example, commonly referred to as “THE DELAHAYE.” |
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