Chausson Prototype

1947 Chausson CHS

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Silverstone, England | July 21, 2012

Occupied France was flush with engineers and designers who had automobile plans ready to go when World War II ended. They were not, however, flush with raw materials and the equipment to mass produce them immediately following liberation.

Enter British racing driver Tom Delaney, who traveled to France after the war and brought the car you see here back with him to England. The car was a running prototype – chassis and engine #1 – built by Chausson (who are still active in the motorhome business). His goal was to get the car into production. It never happened and this is the only example that still exists of the three originally built.

Delaney kept the car until about the year 2000, when he gave it to his friend – interestingly, Delaney (who was born in 1911) drove racing cars – okay, the same Lea-Francis – from 1930 until a few months before he died in 2006, making him the oldest licensed racing driver in the world.

It was called the “Economy Car” and it’s small, powered by a 340cc single-cylinder engine. It is being offered for sale for the first time in history in “as is” condition. The paint is gone and it looks pretty rough, but definitely restorable. It comes with a few spares and six file boxes of documentation, including the original blueprints! It’s definitely an interesting opportunity. It is expected to bring between $22,000-$28,000. For more information, click here. For more from this auction, click here.

Update: Sold $17,370.

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