Delage Grand Prix

1927 Delage 15-S-8 Grand Prix

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 13-14, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Delage is probably best remembered for some of their swoopy coachbuilt models of the 1930s. But as early as 1908, the company was involved in grand prix racing. They introduced an impressive grand prix car in 1914 that would go on to win the Indianapolis 500 that year.

They took the war off, as well as the following five years, before returning to the track. New rules in 1926 led Delage to design the 15-S-8, a car powered by a supercharged 1.5-liter inline-eight. It was an engineering feat, with twin-cam heads and two-stage blower. Horsepower was about 170 at a screaming 8,000 rpm. That’s a lot of revs for 1927.

For 1927, they company took their 1926 cars and tweaked them a bit. Four 1927 examples were produced, with this being the last. Changes included relocating the exhaust and shifter. The competition history for this car includes:

  • 1927 Grand Prix of ACF Montlhery – 3rd (with Andre Morel)
  • 1927 Spanish Grand Prix – DNF (with Morel)
  • 1927 British Grand Prix at Brooklands – 3rd (with Albert Divo)
  • 1929 Indianapolis 500 – 7th (with Louis Chiron)
  • 1930 French Grand Prix – 6th (with Robert Senechal)
  • 1931 Italian Grand Prix – 9th (with Senechal)
  • 1931 French Grand Prix – 5th (with Senechal)
  • 1933 Eifelrennen – 1st in class (with Earl Howe)
  • 1933 Avusrennen – 3rd (with Howe)

That’s a pretty impressive resume, mostly because was competitive for nearly a decade (it saw regular competitive use through 1935). After WWII, two of the four Delage 15-S-8 race cars were acquired by the same guy who also bought some spares. He ended up assembling three complete cars by mixing and matching parts. This car’s history since is described in more detail here. You can read more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $1,000,000.

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