1948 DELAHAYE 135 M Cabriolet by H. Chapron

Serial number: 801025
French registration
- Fine history
- High-quality restoration

The Delahaye Type 135 is a prestige car from Delahaye, produced in 2,592 examples between the fall of 1935 and the end of 1952. It was always offered with an in-line 6-cylinder engine of rather substantial displacement.
This model was a great success in competition. For example, in the 1935 French Alps Rally and the 1938 Le Mans 24 Hours.
The paradox of these Delahaye cars lies in their incomplete production, at least for the 135. Delahaye did little in the way of outfitting its cars, but delivered the chassis and engine assembly to the many coachbuilders who then took care of the rest. This opened up a wide range of possibilities for chassis design and interpretation.
The example we are offering for sale was acquired by Mr. Leblanc, head of the Distilleries de Bretagne et de Normandie réunies. He was based at 5 rue Lincoln, Paris. For the record, the late Jean-Pierre Bernard told us, during our historical research, that "La vitrine parisienne du constructeur Delahaye" was located on the Avenue des Champs Elysées, just around the corner from Rue Lincoln. We can't help thinking that Mr. Leblanc, on his way to or from work, must have stopped many times to contemplate the models on display.
In 1966, Michel Picard decided to put an end to his love affair with the beautiful Delahaye and entrusted it to a garage owner, to be sold to a scrap dealer for the price of the metal it was made of. The garage owner was undoubtedly a sentimentalist, a visionary or simply a pragmatist, and managed to find an enthusiast (unless it was himself) to buy the car back for a "pharaonic" sum: 150 NF. Times had changed very quickly indeed. From then on, all traces of other owners were lost to memory, and it wasn't until 2010 that the current owners acquired the car in the consumed state of a non-running wreck.But this time, there's no question of sending it to the scrap heap. A major restoration project is underway to restore this beautiful cabriolet to its former glory.
For more information, see our ebook on pages 106 ff.