1937 DELAHAYE 135 COUPE DES ALPES CHAPRON ROADSTER | Showing 114041 kilometers, 3,227 cc 196.9 cu in straight 6 engine, 3 Solex 40 flip carburetors, 4 speed manual transmission, RWD. VIN#47545. This Delahaye 135 “Coupe des Alps” chassis was finished in November 1936 and bodied by Chapron in May 1937. It was the second of the series of seven type 135 Chapron Roadsters. It was registered by its first owner in July 1937, N. Cyriel Depery and licensed number 2179QR2. It seems he became a resistance fighter for France as the car was photographed in August of 1944 in the Annecy Liberation parade with 3 well-known members of the resistance including the departmental chief being driven by Depery. In March 1951 he sold it to M Eugene Juilliard who died in 1960. The car was stored by a garage owner until he pushed it out into the street due to nonpayment of the storage fee. At that point, for the sum of 170 new francs or about its junk value, A M. George Lombard rescued the car and would keep it and drive it for the next 53 years. It was finally driven to the Artcurial auction at retromobile in 2014. The gas cap was a rag stuffed in the filler tube and the car was very in need of restoration M. Lombard had to replace the engine not long after he acquired the car but the next owner was able to find an exact replacement 1937 Delahaye motor in France.
This bank seized vehicle will sell at a public auction on Saturday, June 25th. Location: Barber Motorsports Museum in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. www.hendersonmotorseries.com for all the details. Offered without reserve.
