1939 Delahaye 135 Competition Court Torpedo Roadster by Figoni et Falaschi

1939 Delahaye 135 Competition Court Torpedo Roadster by Figoni et Falaschi
Sold for $6,600,000 Including Commission
RM Auction, Amelia island, Florida 2014
Chassis no. 48667
Engine no. 48667
Body no. 660
130 cv, 3,557 cc inline overhead-valve six-cylinder engine, four-speed manual gearbox, independent front suspension with transverse leaf spring, live rear axle with quarter-elliptic springs, and four-wheel assisted, mechanically actuated Bendix drum brakes. Wheelbase: 106.29 in. (2,700 mm)

•Offered from the Pray Collection
•Single ownership for half a century
•One of two surviving short-chassis examples; the ultimate Type 135
•The only surviving example with its Geo Ham body tag


It has often been said that a great automobile is one that can stand entirely on its own merits. Whether moving or standing still, it is not only beautiful, but it also has an almost magical aura that stops those who see it in their tracks. In the words of Thomas Wolfe, it is "freedom, sex, power, motion, color—everything."

In the 1930s, a middle-aged illustrator and an 11-year-old boy both found everything in the same car. Neither would ever forget it.

PARIS, 1936

Chassis number 48667 was one of approximately thirty Competition Court chassis constructed. As described in Delahaye: Le Grande Livre, "The Type 135 Competition Court, which doesn't show up on any price list, represents the special 'Grand Sport' version of the Type 135, destined for competition. Its assembly resulted from a cocktail of pieces that came from chassis Type 135 Series 3 and the Specials. Many mechanical options can make a model very close to the racing chassis, based on certain driving tests. Some Delahaye clients risked it, and not without success. Assembled based on client demand for at least two years, their evolution is not well-defined." In essence, this model was the street version of the purely competition Type 135 S.

The relatively early number of 48667 indicates that the car's chassis was likely laid down in 1936; thus, it is appropriate that it has the four-speed manual gearbox. It is also worth mentioning that the original chassis tag indicates Type 135-M, which is not to be unexpected, as Le Grande Livre further notes, "These chassis sometimes wear the build tag of the Type 135 M. We're unsure of the reason, but likely for homologation purposes."

The chassis was delivered to France's most prominent coachbuilders, Figoni et Falaschi, of Paris. According to the Figoni archives, the car was commissioned not by a private individual but rather by Delahaye itself, indicating its planned use as a show car.

The design for the Torpedo Roadster that clothes the chassis is based on the famed 1936 Paris Auto Show car. Its form has traditionally been recognized as a collaboration between Figoni and the illustrator Georges Hamel, or "Geo Ham," who remains widely recognized for his depictions of airplanes and automobiles in racing posters of the period. Although credit has long been given to Figoni and Ham, recent debate indicates that its roots lay in a design penned and published in 1934 by designer Alexis de Sakhnoffsky. In any case, the Paris Auto Show car of 1936, constructed by Figoni et Falaschi with the input of Geo Ham, was the first of what would become a series of 13 streamlined bodies.

The series was comprised of both open and closed cars that were based on long and short chassis, with each having its own unique characteristics. In producing these subsequent bodies, Figoni et Falaschi initially refused to acknowledge Ham's contribution to the design. The illustrator threatened a lawsuit, and an agreement was soon struck, by which Ham was allowed to register bodies 6, 7, and 8 as his creations, under the Union of Artistic Property. Each of these cars bore a brass tag, affixed just aft of the doors, acknowledging this agreement.

One of these three cars was the Delahaye factory's chassis number 48667, which still retains its original tag, "Creation Figoni-Falaschi-Geo Ham modele depose No. 7," to this day. This car is one of only two short-chassis Torpedo Roadsters that survive, and it is the only one to retain the original Geo Ham tag. In addition to this very special feature, it was given other touches indicative of its original career as a showstopper, including a dummy fuel filler cap on the driver's side and the absence of courtesy lights mounted on the rear fenders. This automobile, finished in Blue Monaco and Straw Yellow, was built purely for beauty.

Delivery of the Torpedo Roadster was made to Delahaye on August 8, 1937. October 21, it was shown at the Gardenia Concours d'Elegance at Saint-Cloud, where it was presented by Ovidio Falaschi's lovely stepdaughter, Emilienne d'Avray. Photos of the car at the concours were published for the first time in marque expert Jean-Paul Tissot's Figoni & Delahaye.

Complete info here:


Robert Myrick Photography