At the Paris Motor Show of 1936, Delahaye displayed an example of their venerable 135M with incredibly wild and curvaceous torpédo roadster coachwork by Figoni et Falaschi, and with it, the coachbuilding style now colloquially referred to as French Curves was born. The car featured fully skirted pontoon-style fenders, a folding windscreen, and a subtle vertical fin running the length of the trunk. Copious use of hand-formed chrome trim accentuated the beautifully balanced design. It is widely accepted that 11 such examples were built, including the show car, and that about five remain today, which is supported by a copy of a letter on file by Delahaye historian André Vaucourt. All of the cars were subtly unique, and each one had a vastly different existence.

According to Figoni et Falaschi records and notes on file, the car offered here, chassis 49169, was ordered by the Algerian importer Monsieur Migliaccio, for his client Monsieur Fould in March 1938, bearing body no. 700.

A pair of photographs on file of 49169, dating as early as the 1940s, depict the car, finished in a light metallic color, in an Algerian garage with other French cars and registered as “3230 AL15.” However, nothing further is currently known about its decades in the French-controlled, northern African country.

According to a report by Jean-Paul Tissot, Delahaye Club honorary chairman and marque historian, 49169 was discovered by French enthusiast Antoine Serval in the Algerian mountains near the city of Tizi Ouzou, at the home of scrap dealer Loones Belkessam in 1992. The Delahaye was in relatively intact condition; however, the three-abreast bench seat was missing, as was the trunk lid. Photos taken at the time reveal that the car retained the vast majority of its coachwork, hand-formed brass trim, its windshield frame, finely detailed grille, and even its delicate biplane-style front bumper. It was, by any measure, an incredibly important and most unlikely find.

According to M. Tissot, after its purchase, the Delahaye was shipped to France, where a restoration was performed, initially utilizing a large number of newly made body panels and inner structure; however, he further reports that a second restoration was then completed by the esteemed body specialists at Crailville in Middlesex, England, which reintroduced elements of the original Figoni et Falaschi torpédo roadster body, including the fenders and hood. Following this masterful restoration, the 135M was displayed at Retromobile in 1997 on the Club Delahaye stand, finished in two shades of blue. Here, the car was purchased by well-known Swiss collector Marc Caveng, who commissioned Carrosserie Fernandez of Lausanne to repaint the Delahaye in black, accented by crimson pinstriping and cognac leather. Photos contained in the vehicle’s file show that many of the chrome pieces – including the delicate fender adornments and the windshield frame – are numbered to the car. Taken all together, the single, dark color of the body and fenders allows the subtleties of the design to be fully appreciated, and its brightwork provides the perfect finishing touch.

It is believed that the dashboard in 49169 was updated to a postwar design at some point during its years in Algeria. As part of the cosmetic refinishing in the late 1990s, Mr. Caveng opted to reconstruct the Delahaye’s dashboard in the design of the original 1936 Paris show car, using surviving photographs as a guide, and was fortunate to source a pair of new old stock instruments for the car.

In 1999, Mr. Caveng sold the rare black and cognac Delahaye, and it was purchased by noted collector Robert E. Petersen of Los Angeles. It has since been a fixture of the Petersen Automotive Museum Collection, where it has remained on display for the public to experience. On occasion, it has been graciously loaned for special-themed exhibitions, including in 2007 to the Saratoga Automobile Museum in Saratoga Springs, New York, as a centerpiece of their Barn Finds exhibition, which featured cars that had been rescued from long periods of disuse. Chassis 49169 certainly qualified, though one would never suspect it, given its outstanding presentation today.

Several of the sister cars of 49169 have been carefully traced, and it is thought that about five cars survive of the 11 originally built, and two of the other survivors deserve particular note. The esteemed lifelong automotive enthusiast Malcolm Pray vowed to own one the day he first saw a Delahaye “Géo Ham” Torpédo Roadster in his youth. Later in life, he turned his goal into reality with that very car, chassis 48667, and he proudly displayed it as the centerpiece of his collection until his passing. Additionally, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® veteran Jacques Harguindeguy won Best of Show with his 135M Torpédo Roadster, chassis 48666, in 2000; significantly, it remains the only Delahaye ever to take the top prize on the 18th fairway in the 72-year history of the event.

Delahaye’s spectacular Torpédo Roadsters have been exciting crowds since the first one was unveiled in Paris in 1936, and finding one in repose under an olive tree in Algeria in 1992 hardly seemed probable. The design endures today; even as the surviving cars near 90 years of age, they still have a modern, relevant presence. A French style statement of the highest order, 49169 has arrived at this moment, defying incredible odds, and now seeks its next wise caretaker.