Vehicle Description
Chassis No. 51740
Engine No. 51740
Body No. 757
Former Peugeot employee Louis Del�ge made his mark on the French
automotive business with the founding of Delage Automobile Company
from a barn in Levallois in 1905. By the 1920s, Del�ge's company
had gained renown as a formidable force in both Grand Prix racing
and road car manufacturing, with the latter known for their
masterful combination of refined engineering and artistic
collaboration with the era's most gifted coachbuilders. Under
Del�ge's leadership, the firm attracted partnerships with the most
celebrated carrossiers of the period, none more significant than
the Parisian atelier of Figoni et Falaschi.
Giuseppe Figoni and Ovidio Falaschi brought a revolutionary
aesthetic to automotive design, crafting some of the most elegant
and influential bodies of the streamliner era beginning in 1935.
Lauded as the "couturiers of the automobile," Figoni et Falaschi
crafted flamboyant, graceful and aerodynamically sculpted bodies,
each shape guided by Figoni's eye for proportion and airflow. The
partnership between Delage's sophisticated engineering and Figoni
et Falaschi's sculpted coachwork produced some of the most coveted
automobiles of the late 1930s.
By the mid-1930s, however, even this illustrious marque was not
immune to the financial pressures of the Great Depression. British
financier Walter Watney brokered Delage's merger with French rival
Delahaye in 1935-a partnership of necessity that nevertheless
proved fortuitous. Under Delahaye's stewardship, Louis Del�ge's
vision continued through the D6 series, as Delage's engineering
team remained largely autonomous even while drawing from Delahaye's
proven components. Del�ge and engineer Arthur-Leon Michelat set out
to prepare a new model, the D6-70, by de-stroking the Delahaye 135
engine to 2,729 cc with a revised cylinder head, adapting the Type
134 chassis, and fitting it with Houdaille hydraulic shock
absorbers and Bendix hydraulic brakes.
Recognizing motorsport as an ideal marketing opportunity to
showcase the durable, powerful D6 platform, Watney enlisted Louis
Gerard-a wealthy Delage client and accomplished gentleman racer-to
pilot a special 3.0-liter D6-70 Coupe bodied by Figoni et Falaschi
in the 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans. Gerard and co-driver Jacques de
Valence de Minardiere delivered a class win and 4th overall, before
Gerard piloted the D6-70 (then with open coachwork) to outright
victory in the 1938 RAC Tourist Trophy at Donington Park, and a
class win at the 24 Hours of Spa that same season. Reborn after
World War II as the D6-3L, Delage resumed its dominance with class
wins at the 1948 Spa 24 Hours and Paris 12 Hours, capped by a
2nd-overall, 3.0-liter class victory at Le Mans in 1949.
This truly exceptional Delage D6-70, chassis number 51740, wears
Figoni et Falaschi's striking Three-Position Drophead Coupe
coachwork (body number 757). According to marque historian Fran�ois
Jolly's Delage La D6-70 et ses evolutions, 51740 was completed in
June 1939 as the first of just four pre-war Delage chassis bodied
by Figoni et Falaschi, each built for different customers in
various unique styles.
The design of 51740 is at once sporting and luxurious: a long,
ventilated bonnet, sumptuous sweeping fenders, and a low windscreen
give the Delage an athletic stance, while elegant details like
chrome headlamps, subtly skirted rear wheels, and a finely crafted
three-position convertible top (allowing closed, open, or coupe de
ville configurations) invite both grand touring and formal town
use. The car is also equipped with a 2,973-cc, overhead-valve
engine breathing through triple Solex carburetors and producing 120
horsepower-a rarely seen, likely competition-derived upgrade over
the standard 2,729-cc unit. Remarkably, it is the original,
matching-numbers unit bearing a 1938 casting date and matching
engine number plate (51740).
According to Jolly's research, chassis 51740 made its debut at the
1939 Paris Salon and reportedly claimed first prize at the 1939
Concours d'�legance au Bois de Boulogne. As war loomed over Europe,
the remarkable Delage found refuge in Portugal, where its original
owner concealed it from Axis forces throughout the conflict. The
car remained hidden until 1974, when it was discovered and acquired
by its second owner, who found it in remarkably complete and
original condition after decades of storage.
The new custodian embarked on a restoration program conducted by
Mr. Michel Poncin of the 16th Arrondissement in Paris. This
included renewing the exterior in its current midnight blue finish,
while the interior was re-trimmed in red leather and the
three-position top in alpaca beige canvas (later re-trimmed to its
current dark blue). This restoration culminated in a triumphant
return to Paris in 1995, when chassis 51740 was displayed at
Retromobile in Paris-fifty-four years after its original debut-with
both M. Del�ge Jr. and Claude Figoni present to witness this
remarkable homecoming.
In 2001 the car arrived in the United States, joining a prominent
collection, and by 2022 it became a cherished centerpiece of the
current owner's collection. In every respect, this 1939 Delage
D6-70 Figoni et Falaschi Drophead Coupe represents an extraordinary
opportunity to acquire one of the most exceptional French
automobiles of the pre-war era. Its Figoni et Falaschi bodywork is
at once a sculpture and a testament to the zenith of French Art
Deco design, sure to draw admiration on any concours field.
Meanwhile, the legacy of Louis Del�ge lives on under the hood, in
its silky-smooth 3.0-liter six-cylinder powerplant and ingenious
Cotal transmission that make this car as satisfying to drive as it
is to behold.
