For Sale at Auction: 1955 Talbot-Lago T26 in Amelia Island, Florida

Chassis No. 111.017
Engine No. 215

Like many fabled European marques, the Talbot-Lago T26 was a road car born of a legacy of innovation and developed in motorsports. After placing first and second at the 1950 Le Mans 24 Hours, the engine design was adapted by Anthony Lago and Carlo Marchetti for the Grand Sport Lago (GSL). Equipped with three Solex 40 PAI carburetors, the 4.5-liter inline-six mated to a Wilson preselector transmission was one of France's most powerful production cars at 210 horsepower. The GSL also benefited from a newly developed coil spring front suspension designed to work with its shorter-wheelbase chassis.

Club Talbot of France documents that just 22 T26 were produced, with this being just the 17th of the small series. A copy of its original build sheet reveals 017 as the only one in this unique configuration. Featuring a distinctive sporting "Competizione" specification, it was powered by the race-bred 4.5-liter engine, and equipped with Koni shock absorbers, driving lights, oversized brakes, Dunlop racing tires, a quick-fill gas cap, and compact bumpers with reflectors. These enhancements, combined with French tax laws, elevated the purchase price over 3,000,000 French Francs, or nearly the same price as a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing! When delivered to Monsieur Regy of Paris on 5 July 1955, Club Talbot of France documents it as the only GSL produced with its seamless Carlo Delaisse-designed bodywork finished in Rouge, with a Beige leather interior.

In the 1970s, the car was imported to the United States, where it entered Gordon Apker's esteemed collection in Seattle, Washington. Like all the cars in his collection, he enjoyed the car's driving dynamics as much as he appreciated its styling and history. The Talbot is noted to have been used in multiple editions of the Colorado Grand and shown at the 2011 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance.

After residing in the Pacific Northwest for over three decades, the Talbot entered the collection of its current New Mexico-based owner in January 2014. Starting in 2017, Brian Madden at Phil Reilly & Company of Corte Madera, California, was commissioned to conduct a complete engine rebuild and interior restoration. This work included rebuilding the original, matching-numbers engine to its original specification. Additionally, the interior was retrimmed with fresh beige leather, patterned from an unrestored GSL.

Following final engine testing, the Talbot was used in April 2018 on the 28th Annual Copperstate 1000. With a FIVA Identity Card issued in October 2018, the GSL was ready for the 37th Mille Miglia Storica. Returning to Europe in 2019 for the first time in decades, the sporting Talbot left Brescia on 15 May and completed the 1,801 kilometers or over 1,100 miles with relative ease. Over four days and forty hours of driving through seven regions and 200 town centers, the 37th Mille Miglia Storica proved to be the adventure of a lifetime, and one perfectly suited to the Talbot-Lago's sporting pedigree.

Upon its return to the U.S., the GSL underwent a detailed frame-off restoration. The bodywork was expertly restored along with its wood frame, then refinished as originally specified in Rouge. With the engine previously rebuilt in 2016, attention turned to overhauling the suspension, transmission, steering, brakes, and electrical system. Only completed in late 2025, this highly detailed multi-year restoration has culminated in likely one of the finest examples of the GSL. Furnished with invoices which include the work by Brian Madden, a detailed accounting of the restoration is available for review in the history file, totaling in excess of $500,000.

Today, this Talbot is an exquisite example of the only GSL ordered new in this competition specification. Eligible for the finest concours d'elegance and driving events around the world-including the Mille Miglia Storica-this T26 GSL offers its owner nearly limitless ways to enjoy it. Furnished with copies of its factory build sheets, restoration records totaling in excess of $500,000, this race-derived Talbot surely is the most compelling example of the T26 GSL extant.