1911 Delahaye Type 413a Charabanc

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | December 7, 2016

Photo – Bonhams

Émile Delahaye’s automotive concern was founded in 1894 in Tours, France. The company is primarily known for their beautiful, windswept, coachbuilt beauties of the 1930s. But the company built more than just luxury cars, in fact in the early 1900s they began building heavy commercial vehicles and fire trucks.

This, the Type 413a, was originally built as a fire truck and and was used in southeast France. It didn’t last long, as newer, better equipment quickly came along. So the fire truck made its way to a museum where it stayed until 1973. It was purchased out of the museum by collector Michael Banfield, the liquidation of whose collection we featured prominently here on the site.

The present owner acquired it at that sale and replaced the fire engine with this 12-seat Charabanc body. The engine is a 3.0-liter straight-four and the restoration is fresh, having been completed earlier this year. While the loss of an original 100-year-old fire engine isn’t great news, the new body this car carries makes it more functional and likely to survive another 100 years. It’s very cool and reminiscent of those Stanley Mountain Wagons. It should bring between $75,000-$99,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $78,276.

Update: Not sold, RM Sotheby’s, Hershey 2018.

Update: Sold, Bonhams Quail 2019, $86,800.