1948 Delahaye Type 175S GP Recreation in Monterey, CA

Engine No. 815000

For Delahaye, the mid-1930s marked a strategic transformation following its 1935 acquisition of rival marque Delage, a move that repositioned the company from conservative truck and small car manufacturing into racing and luxury car production. The acquisition brought valuable technology that contributed to the success of the Type 135, which in sports-racing Type 135S form, achieved motorsport glory with victories including the 1938 24 Hours of Le Mans driven by Eugene Chaboud and Jean Tremoulet. The model's successor was planned for debut at the October 1939 Paris Auto Salon but was interrupted by World War II and further complicated by the unexpected death of chief engineer Jean Fran�ois in April 1944, ultimately delaying the car's introduction until 1948.

The long-awaited Type 175 represented a significant technical evolution, featuring a 4.5-liter straight-six engine with seven main bearings compared to the Type 135's four, along with advanced independent front suspension and semi-monocoque chassis construction. Like its predecessor, the platform proved ideal for competition. Type 175S racecars featured an uprated 4.5-liter overhead-valve straight-six built to a 9.1:1 compression ratio and fed by three dual-choke carburetors, yielding over 220 horsepower. Delahaye reserved its high-performance Type?175S variants for privateer luminaries Charles?Pozzi and his compatriot Eugene?Chaboud-co-founder of Ecurie?Lutetia and the 1947 French racing champion. Chaboud and Pozzi campaigned these potent chassis across Formula?One and endurance programs under the Ecurie?Lutetia banner, including two consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1949 and 1950.

This faithful recreation of the Ecurie?Lutetia Le Mans contender showcases the advanced engineering that made the Type 175S so formidable, featuring a 4,455-cc overhead-valve inline six-cylinder engine, fed by three Solex 40 AIP sidedraft carburetors and delivering an estimated 165 horsepower at 4,200 rpm. Power is transmitted through a desirable and period-correct four-speed Cotal pre-selector gearbox. Rendered in wonderful French Racing Blue, this recreation faithfully reproduces the original's open-cockpit cycle fender coachwork in hand-formed aluminum. The car's authentic appearance is completed by Rudge-style wire wheels housing four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes.

This particular recreation, titled by its engine number 815000, was presented at the 55th Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance in 2005 where it was shown in the featured Delahaye class that year. The car was subsequently acquired in 2011 by the renowned collection of Peter and Merle Mullin-an exquisite gathering of coachbuilt, Art Deco French automobiles-where it remained for over a decade until the 2024 closing of the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California. Today, this fine recreation offers an authentic driving experience that would make an intriguing addition to any collection of historic endurance racing cars.

Please note this vehicle is titled by its engine number