Vehicle Description
In 1933, Chrysler Corporation was still a relative newcomer in the
American car market, but thanks to Walter Percy Chrysler's
incredible business acumen, he had grown his fledgling operation
into one of the most successful automobile manufacturers in the
country, despite being founded less than a decade prior. By 1929,
Chrysler Corp consisted of Plymouth, DeSoto, and Dodge to satisfy
the low and mid-range market, while Walter's namesake Chrysler
brand was used for the high end models, surpassed only by the
Imperial which was reserved for only the finest cars Chrysler had
to offer. Imperial's main rivals, chiefly Lincoln, Packard and
Cadillac, had all developed V-12 or even V-16 engines for their
flagship models, but Chrysler instead chose to remain loyal to his
big displacement L-head inline eight, which was a proven, reliable
and powerful engine, even if it lacked some of the exoticism of the
twelves and sixteens. First introduced in the CG Imperial of 1931,
the big straight eight was a gutsy and spirited engine, giving the
Imperial superlative straight line performance, even in the face of
its multi-cylinder competition. With its low and wide stance,
handling was also impressive, and today the CG, CL and CH Imperials
are known as some of the best driver's cars of the era. Following
the CG Imperial, the line was split into two models, the CH and CL.
Both came equipped with the same straight eight engine as before,
but the CH rode on a 135-inch wheelbase chassis while the CL was a
full 10 inches longer at 145". The styling was freshened and
refined, yet it still retained the model's signature long,
low-slung appearance, which borrowed heavily from Cord's L-29; a
car that Walter Chrysler very much admired. The beautiful, heavily
canted waterfall grille and sweeping fenders make it one of the
most stunning American motorcars of the Classic Era, particularly
in long-wheelbase CL specification. While most CL Imperials wore
semi-custom coachwork by Le Baron, a handful of cars were delivered
without bodies and graced with the work of the world's finest
coachbuilders. Our featured example is a long-wheelbase 1933 CL
Imperial, serial number 7803694, and is of those scant few chassis
that was delivered sans-coachwork. Copies of original build records
show that this car was exported directly from Chrysler destined for
Paris, France. The build sheet further specifies it left Chrysler
without a body. Upon its arrival in Paris, it was fitted with this
stunning, one-off custom coachwork by de Villars. Carrosserie de
Villars was founded in 1925 in Courbevoie, a town just a few miles
outside the center of Paris. Interestingly, the founder was an
American named Frank Jay Gould. Mr. Gould was the son of a wealthy
railroad tycoon, and he opened the Carrosserie as a workshop to
service the motorcars of his family and wealthy friends. The de
Villars name comes from the company's first manager and Gould's
son-in-law, Roland de Graffenried de Villars. We can only assume
that "de Villars" sounded a bit more exotic than "Gould" and the
name stuck. Most of de Villars creations were one-offs, built with
typical French quality and panache, with a hint of American
influence. Given Frank Gould's social standing, the cars that were
brought to his workshop were the best of the best. De Villars
bodies have graced chassis by Bugatti, Mercedes-Benz, Minerva,
Delage and Delahaye, among others, and remain among the most
sought-after and important coachbuilt bodies of the pre-war era.
This beautiful Chrysler is believed to be the only Imperial bodied
by de Villars. While the car's earliest history in France is still
being researched, we do know from records supplied by Fiat Chrysler
Automobiles that this car, number 7803694, was dispatched on July
10th 1933. The build record is stamped "CHASSIS EXPORT", with the
destination noted as Paris, France. While the historical trail goes
cold at that point, it picks up again in 1968 when the car was
purchased by a Polish national who lived in France, named Pierre
(Piotr) Sanguszko, who kept the car until his passing in the late
1980s. From there, the Imperial found its way to the well-known
collection of Mr. Rene Cocheteux, also of France, who used the car
regularly, participating in various events and tours in Europe.
Today, this magnificent automobile remains in sound and complete
condition, suitable for freshening or a full restoration. At some
point in its life, the rear fenders were modified and the original
Herm�s trunk was replaced, though the majority of the body remains
intact and in quite good condition. Judged on its own, the one-off
de Villars coachwork is simply beautiful; a fine pairing with the
long wheelbase, low-slung CL Imperial chassis. It is uniquely
sporty yet elegant, with its low ride height and the CL's signature
ultra-long hood stretching nearly to the base of the windscreen.
Riding on wire wheels (with dual sidemount spares) and black wall
tires, the Chrysler takes on an almost sinister look. The
Victoria-style roof treatment allows for three positions; fully
closed, half open or fully open. With the roof erect or folded, it
is a supremely handsome automobile; an exquisite example of 30's
French high-style. The original, factory fitted engine (number CL
1399) matches that indicated on the build records. It runs quite
well, the straight-eight sounding smooth and healthy. It appears
that this car has never had a full restoration, rather having work
done through the years only as needed. As such, many of the
components appear original and the Imperial has since taken on a
warm patina with the honest appeal of a well-loved motorcar. While
it could be used and enjoyed as-is with minimal effort, this unique
CL Imperial is an important, highly desirable collector car that
deserves a comprehensive, concours-level restoration to return it
to its original glory, and we are confident it would be a contender
at virtually any major concours event in the world. The one-off
pairing of de Villars and Imperial created one of the most
breathtaking designs to ever grace a Chrysler chassis; a pairing of
excellence in French design and American engineering.
