1937 Delage D8-120
French registration
Serial number: 51028
- High-quality restoration
- Exceptional history
- Best of show at the Concours d'Elegance de la Baule 2012

Originally an assembly plant in Levallois-Perret, Louis Delage's factory began building vehicles under his own name in 1905. This marked the birth of a brand-new French marque: the Delage brand.
Renowned for its prestigious models, the Hauts de Seine firm offered both luxury and racing models (a Delage won the ACF Grand Prix on several occasions). Wishing to compete with the prestigious 8-cylinder cars from Bugatti, Bentley and Hispano-Suiza, Delage launched its new model at the 1929 Paris Motor Show, the all-new Delage D8 with an in-line 8-cylinder engine.
This 4L engine was further developed with the launch of the D8-100 4.3L engine in 1936, and above all with the launch of the highly prestigious D8-120 in 1937. This model is the most accomplished version of the Delage D8, thanks in particular to its 4.7L engine capable of reaching 160 km/h.
Our example is a Delage D8-120, bodied by Henri Chapron and fitted with the cotal gearbox. It is the 5th built by Henri Chapron in February 1937.
This car was part of an order for 8 "Cabriolets Grand Luxe 4 places". We trace it back to 1946, when the car bears the registration number 5983 RL.
On October 23, 1947, it became the property of Monsieur Louis DELPECH, an industrialist in Annonay, as the records of the Ardèche departmental archives show. In April 1951, it took on the Isère registration number 407 V 38.
Its owner was David MAYO, a resident of Décines-Charpieu.
In 1960, it was sold by Mr Alain Nicoud, 10 rue Royale, Paris, to Mr Max Liber, 5 rue Saint Auber, Paris. On September 30, 1969, Mr Max Liber sold it to Mr Louis Bayard.
She stopped one day in 1969 in Dijon, having broken down a little further along the famous Nationale 6. It remained outside under an awning for 40 long years.
Restoration began in 2009. In 2012, it won "Best of Show" at the Concours d'Elégance de La Baule. Since then, thousands of kilometers have been covered aboard her, from Paris and its traffic jams, to Cannes, Bordeaux, Brittany, Normandy, and even as far as Dubai to present the new Delage D12