Delahaye 135 Coupé des Alpes - 1935
Coachwork by Henri Labourdette
Chassis n° 46081
Les Grandes Marques du Monde au Grand Palais 2020
Bonhams
Parijs - Paris
Frankrijk - France
February 2020
Estimated : € 180.000 - 220.000
Sold for € 230.000
In the mid-1930s, any car that was fashionable had to be aerodynamic, and each manufacturer had its own interpretation, this astonishing and unique Delahaye 135 Coupe des Alpes being bodied by Henri Labourdette, whose very personal interpretations always stand out from the crowd. To date, chassis number '46081' is the only Delahaye 135 known to have been bodied by Labourdette, one of the oldest of Parisian master coachbuilders. Jean-Paul Tissot, President of the Delahaye Club, has confirmed that this 135 Coupe des Alpes left the factory in 1935 with this chassis number ('46081'). This actual car appears in a photograph reproduced in La Vie de l'Automobile of 25th April 1936 illustrating the road test conducted by the famous journalist Charles Faroux, who recorded a maximum speed of 148.7km/h (92mph) at Montlhéry in this Delahaye.
There are no further traces of this car until the late 1980s when it reappeared in the ownership of former racing driver Pierre Flahaut, then Jaguar's agent in Paris. Flahaut, who had raced at Le Mans with Delahaye and Panhard in the 1950s, had bought the car, then registered '5343 PF 75', from the heirs of the Sirot family. Abandoned for a long time in the outbuildings of a castle, but complete, it was fully restored at Messrs Tessier (bodywork) and at Messrs Beauzon (mechanicals). The car was then exhibited at Rétromobile on the Delahaye Club's stand, and joined Jean Gorjat's collection in the UK where it was registered as 'MSJ 158'.
Looking in silhouette like a sporting estate car, Labourdette's Delahaye 135 Coupe des Alpes appears today surprisingly modest yet refined, with its fastback stern and slender looks complemented by the large Rudge wheels and gracefully curved wings. Appropriately for French luxury cars, the upholstery is in brown leather, while other noteworthy interior features include a Bakelite steering wheel of the same colour and an impressive line up of control buttons under the two large gauges, recessed into the varnished wooden dashboard. On the left, in addition to the clock, ammeter and oil temperature gauge, is a mechanical rev counter, while its counterpart, on the right, contains the thermometer, fuel gauge and oil pressure gauge, crowned by the speedometer which promises 200 kilometres/hour.
Delahaye 135 Coupé des Alpes - 1935
Coachwork by Henri Labourdette
Chassis n° 46081
Les Grandes Marques du Monde au Grand Palais 2020
Bonhams
Parijs - Paris
Frankrijk - France
February 2020
Estimated : € 180.000 - 220.000
Sold for € 230.000
In the mid-1930s, any car that was fashionable had to be aerodynamic, and each manufacturer had its own interpretation, this astonishing and unique Delahaye 135 Coupe des Alpes being bodied by Henri Labourdette, whose very personal interpretations always stand out from the crowd. To date, chassis number '46081' is the only Delahaye 135 known to have been bodied by Labourdette, one of the oldest of Parisian master coachbuilders. Jean-Paul Tissot, President of the Delahaye Club, has confirmed that this 135 Coupe des Alpes left the factory in 1935 with this chassis number ('46081'). This actual car appears in a photograph reproduced in La Vie de l'Automobile of 25th April 1936 illustrating the road test conducted by the famous journalist Charles Faroux, who recorded a maximum speed of 148.7km/h (92mph) at Montlhéry in this Delahaye.
There are no further traces of this car until the late 1980s when it reappeared in the ownership of former racing driver Pierre Flahaut, then Jaguar's agent in Paris. Flahaut, who had raced at Le Mans with Delahaye and Panhard in the 1950s, had bought the car, then registered '5343 PF 75', from the heirs of the Sirot family. Abandoned for a long time in the outbuildings of a castle, but complete, it was fully restored at Messrs Tessier (bodywork) and at Messrs Beauzon (mechanicals). The car was then exhibited at Rétromobile on the Delahaye Club's stand, and joined Jean Gorjat's collection in the UK where it was registered as 'MSJ 158'.
Looking in silhouette like a sporting estate car, Labourdette's Delahaye 135 Coupe des Alpes appears today surprisingly modest yet refined, with its fastback stern and slender looks complemented by the large Rudge wheels and gracefully curved wings. Appropriately for French luxury cars, the upholstery is in brown leather, while other noteworthy interior features include a Bakelite steering wheel of the same colour and an impressive line up of control buttons under the two large gauges, recessed into the varnished wooden dashboard. On the left, in addition to the clock, ammeter and oil temperature gauge, is a mechanical rev counter, while its counterpart, on the right, contains the thermometer, fuel gauge and oil pressure gauge, crowned by the speedometer which promises 200 kilometres/hour.