For Sale at Auction: 1947 Talbot-Lago T26 in Carmel, California

Chassis No. 100064
Engine No. 6028

Beneath the soaring glass vault of the Grand Palais at the 1946 Paris Motor Show, Talbot-Lago unveiled its all-new model. The T26 Record featured an entirely new chassis and drivetrain, including fully independent front suspension, concealed beneath elegant factory coachwork. The body's lines owed much to the great coachbuilder Joseph Figoni, a longtime friend of Anthony Lago, whose pre-war designs were updated by Carlo Delaisse.

As the marque's first post-war offering, it was powered by a 4.5-litre twin-cam inline-six producing 170 horsepower, paired with a four-speed Wilson-type pre-selector gearbox. At the time, it ranked among the most powerful passenger cars in the world, combining exceptional performance with the refinement expected of one of France's premier luxury manufacturers.

Its mechanical performance was matched by a sumptuous interior and exceptional quality of finish. Such excellence came at a price: 1,340,000 French Francs, making it the most expensive automobile on the French market.

A digital copy of the factory build sheet confirms that the car left the Suresnes works in the autumn of 1947 as a Cabriolet, delivered in green Vert with a Beige leather interior, a beige folding top, and aluminum Rudge wheels. It also featured free-standing chromed headlamps and the elegant first-series windscreen surround with chrome trim and no upper crossbar. These details were exclusive to the earliest production cars before they were discontinued as part of later cost-saving measures.

Its warranty card was issued to M. Guerret, Talbot's distributor in Brussels, Belgium, who is believed to have delivered the car to its first owner in early 1948. Exported from Belgium to the United States during the 1960s, it spent many years in the distinguished collection of CCCA member Joseph Cantore. By the mid-1990s, it was acquired by William Ruger in remarkably original, unrestored condition, showing just 26,000 kilometers from new. Determined to preserve that originality while returning the car to its as-delivered appearance, Ruger entrusted the restoration to Chris Charlton of Oxford, Maine. Carried out over approximately 4,200 hours, the work was meticulous in both its execution and philosophy. Every mechanical component was dismantled; the engine and Wilson pre-selector were comprehensively rebuilt, with replacement parts manufactured to exacting standards only where necessary. The body was stripped, its structural timber carefully repaired, and every effort was made to retain as much original wood and metal as possible. The interior was retrimmed using period-correct materials, a new wiring harness was hand-made in the correct colors, numerous rubber components were specially reproduced, and the distinctive first-series windscreen was remanufactured with polished edges to replicate the original. Throughout, restraint prevailed over excess: over-restoration and unnecessary chrome plating were consciously avoided, as evidenced by the correctly painted wheels.

Following Ruger's passing, the Talbot-Lago was acquired by Orin Smith, who later consigned it to a public sale in 2017, where it was purchased by its previous owner. In 2019, the car received a $22,000 cosmetic refresh, focused primarily on the wheels and a number of finishing details, with detailed invoices retained in the history file, before gracing the lawn at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance later that same year.

Faithfully restored to its original factory specification in accordance with its accompanying build sheet and presented today in the colors in which it left Suresnes in 1947, this exceptional French grand tourer-once the most expensive automobile on the French market and among the world's most powerful passenger cars-offers its next custodian the opportunity to experience one of the great Talbot-Lagos exactly as its makers intended, whether on long-distance touring events or attending the world's finest concours d'elegance in effortless style.