Vanvooren-Bodied Delage

Posted on January 24, 2023 by classiccarweekly

1938 Delage D8-120 Cabriolet by Vanvooren

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 3, 2023

The D8 was Delage’s masterpiece. It was available in various forms, but the D8-120s seem to always have the most beautiful coachwork. The D8-120 was available from 1937 through 1940 and was the ultimate iteration of the D8.

Power is provided by 4.7-liter inline-eight rated at 115 horsepower. French coachbuilder Vanvooren built the body here, and it seats five. It was restored around the 1980s in a pretty excellent two-ton cream and brown. Check out the artillery-style wheels: the fronts are cream and the rears are brown.

This coachbuilt Delage is expected to fetch between $705,000-$920,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Delage D8-120 Grand Luxe

Posted on August 5, 2022 by classiccarweekly

1939 Delage D8-120 Cabriolet Grand Luxe by Chapron

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 19-20, 2022

The D8-120 was the ultimate version of Delage’s grand eight-cylinder car. Introduced in 1937, the model was available through 1940, which marked the end of eight-cylinder Delages. Those eight cylinders displaced 4.3 liters, a slight increase over the earlier D8-100. Output was rated at 90 horsepower. Or 120. Depends who you ask.

This car features bodywork by Henri Chapron that is set off by swoopy lines and a bumper-less front end. Between the louvered hood, superbly placed bits of chrome, and kind of intense wheel covers, this car just has that look. The car wasn’t actually bodied until 1946, with the chassis having been intended for the canceled 1939 Paris Motor Show.

It spent time in Egypt before coming to the U.S. The car was restored in 1995 and repainted in these colors, the originals, in 1998. It now has an estimate of $800,000-$1,200,000, which seems like a steal from the sheer look of it. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $940,000.

Delage Aerosport

Posted on July 16, 2013 by classiccarweekly

1938 Delage D8-120 Aerosport by LeTourneur & Marchand

Offered by Mecum | Monterey, California | August 17, 2013

I’ve spoken before of the “French D’s” – highly-desirable pre-war French automobile marques that are all right next to each other alphabetically – but this is the first Delage we’ve featured. Delage was founded in 1905 by Louis Delage and it was acquired by rival Delahaye in 1935.

The D8-120 was the first Delage automobile designed and produced under Delahaye ownership. It was the only eight-cylinder car offered by either make. The engine is a 4.7-liter straight-eight making 115 horsepower. It was mounted on a Delahaye chassis and sent off to a French coachbuilder – in this case, LeTourneur & Marchand.

This body design ranks among the finest French designs of the 1930s and the most coveted among Delages. Only 12 were built (this is car #11) and only eight remain today. It has full ownership history – including wartime – and was in the same hands from 1957 until 2013. The most recent restoration was carried out in 1999. This is a million-dollar car. Click here for more info and photos and here for more from Mecum in Monterey.

Update: Not sold (high bid of $2,400,000)

Update: Not sold, Mecum Monterey 2014 high bid of $2,300,000.