1934 DELAGE D8S ROADSTER

French title
Chassis n°39432
Engine n° 144

• The penultimate of 99 D8S chassis built!
• Aluminium coachwork to Delage plans
• Constructed by coachbuilder D. Tessier

Delage, the beautiful French car" This slogan sums up one aspect of the marque’s personality, and the D8 model presented at the 1929 Motor Show was testament to this. It was equipped with a 4-litre straight-eight overhead cam engine. In 1933, the range extended to include the D8 S, a sporting version that remains to this day the most iconic Delage touring car ever built. This chassis, one of 99 examples built, offered increased power, semi-desmodromic valve controls, an oil sump cooled by ventilation tubes and lowered suspension. Chassis n°39432, equipped with engine n°144, was the penultimate D8S chassis to be built. It left the factory in 1934, to be given a coach body by Chapron. We know that the car had a change of owner on 7 July 1941, and was then registered in Gironde before being bought on 6 December 1954 by a mechanic from the same department. An old registration document confirms that the coachwork of this handsome D8 had already been modified in order to accommodate a towing crane. The car was then acquired by the renowned dealer Lucien Mette in June 1968. He sold it, shortly afterwards, to a collector from La Rochelle, who gave the car to his daughter and son-in- law in 1982 for their marriage. In 1985, work to restore the car began and the following year, the restored chassis was exhibited at Retromobile. The bodywork was too far gone however, although the bonnet, radiator, lights, bulkhead, dashboard, running board and original hubcaps were saved. After spending 14 years searching for an original body for this lovely chassis, the owners decided to commission the talented coachbuilder Dominique Tessier to build a 2-door, 4-seater roadster body using Delage plans. At least one example would have been built from these plans in period, a car that had taken part in the Paris-St Raphaël in 1932. In 2003, more than 2500 hours of work later, the car was finished and the results were quite simply exceptional. There is a large number of photos showing the creation of this piece of sculpture, with its ash frame clothed in a body made entirely of aluminium. Every detail has been considered, highlighting a design of exceptional purity. The paintwork, with the darker blue of the wings enhancing the tone of the body, has been executed flawlessly. The full-grain beige leather upholstery is of the same high standard. We had the pleasure of getting behind the wheel of this splendid automobile and were able to appreciate how well it ran and the rich sound of its 8-cylinder engine. A sign of a high-quality restoration, the car appears to be in perfect condition, some 20 years on. This Delage undoubtedly offers one of the most stunning pre-war designs built on one of the marque’s best chassis.

The auction of this lot will take place on Friday 18 March.
https://www.artcurial.com/fr/lot-1934-delage-d8s-roadster-4134-111