Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 3, 2023
Photo – Artcurial
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.
Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | September 17, 2022
Photo – Bonhams
Atalantas are very good-looking cars that were produced in small numbers by Atalanta Motors of Middlesex between 1937 and 1939. They were designed by Alfred Gough, who had also designed Frazer Nash‘s overhead-cam engine. Most Atalantas were powered by four-cylinder engines, but a few left the factory with a 4.3-liter Lincoln-Zephyr V12.
This is one of those cars, and Bonhams has a V12 coupe in this sale as well, which is kind of incredible as only 20 Atalanta automobiles were built of all types. The Lincoln-powered cars made 112 horsepower, and all featured a four-wheel independent coil-sprung suspension, an X-brace tubular steel chassis, and 16″ hydraulic drum brakes at each corner.
The cars were quick, stylish, and expensive. Body work here was by Abbott of Farnham, and it was restored a while back. These are pretty great cars, on par with just about anything else coming out of England near the outbreak of WWII. The estimate is $140,000-$210,000. Click here for more info.
1938 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B Mille Miglia Berlinetta by Touring
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 19-20, 2022
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
We’ve featured two examples of Alfa Romeo’s pre-war 6C 2300 B before, and both looked quite different from this car, which resembles a hardtop version of the Touring-bodied 8C 2900 B Lungo Spider. The 6C 2300 was built between 1934 and 1938, with the B version first offered in 1935.
The Mille Miglia version of the B was powered by a 2.3-liter inline-six fitted with triple Solex carburetors for a rating of 95 horsepower. It was essentially the best version of the model. Only 107 examples of the 2300 B Mille Miglia were produced, most looking like this or the Touring-bodied convertible counterpart.
This car has known ownership history back to 1946, showing time spent in Switzerland, France, and the Netherlands before coming stateside in 2008. While this car won’t carry the nearly $20 million dollar price tag of an 8C Lungo, it still won’t come cheap. Click here for more info.
1938 Bugatti Type 57C Stelvio Cabriolet by Gangloff
Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 3, 2022
Photo – Bonhams
Bugatti’s Type 57 was the last new Bugatti to be introduced before the start of WWII. Which makes it the last true production Bugatti, as post-war models were never produced in much quantity and later models were… well… Italian or Volkswagens.
There were various 57s, including the C, which was sold from 1937 through 1940. It’s powered by a supercharged 3.3-liter inline-eight rated at 160 horsepower. The Stelvio was designed in-house at Bugatti as a four-seat cabriolet. This one, as were most, was actually bodied by Gangloff. It could be had on a standard, non-supercharged Type 57 as well.
These are very pretty, very desirable cars. The pre-sale estimate reflects it: $910,000-$1,400,000. This particular example has had the same owner since 1963 and has known ownership history since new. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
1938 Delahaye 135M Three-Position Cabriolet by Figoni & Falaschi
Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | January 2022
Photo – Bring a Trailer Auctions
We’ve featured a number of examples of Delahaye’s 135, a model that was sold between 1935 and 1954 and over a number of variations. Speaking of variations, there are also a number of different body styles spread across quite a few coachbuilders. A pre-war 135M with a cabriolet body by Figoni & Falaschi is not one we’ve featured to date.
This one is a 135M, which was a model introduced in 1936 with increased output. This 3.6-liter inline-six has triple carburetors, meaning it had the highest possible factory output rating: 115 horsepower. The car was bodied in France and delivered to its first owner in Uruguay.
It was restored between 2014 and 2016, and the bodywork is actually fairly different from another three-position convertible from Figoni & Falaschi that we previously featured (as that one was bodied post-war). The bidding on this car ends next week. Check out more about it here.
Offered by Oldtimer Galerie Toffen | Toffen, Switzerland | October 16, 2021
Photo – Oldtimer Galerie Toffen
Matford was formed in 1934 when Ford’s struggling French division merged with a struggling Mathis. The company would offer slightly French versions of American Fords in France through 1940, at which time the second go-round of French Ford got started.
The F81 and F82 (which became the F91 and F92 in 1939), were produced for 1938. The styling is certainly evocative of a ’38 Ford, but there are some differences, such as those hood slits. The F82 featured a smaller V8 than the F81 – a 2.2-liter flathead unit capable of 60 horsepower.
This car was restored a while back and was purchased by its current owner in 2013. It has pretty much just been stored since then. It’s now expected to sell for between $37,000-$43,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Adler was a pioneering German car manufacturer that sold its first car in 1900. They introduced the revolutionary front-wheel-drive Trumpf in 1932. In 1937, the company introduced the Type 10, which is also known as the 2.5-Litre. This would be Adler’s final real new car, as the company chose not to resume automobile production after WWII.
The 2.5-Liter’s namesake inline-six produced about 57 horsepower when new. The streamlined cabriolet bodies were produced by Karmann and allowed the car to hit 78 mph. The model was offered with two- or four-doors and as a coupe, convertible, or sedan.
In all, just 5,295 Type 10s were built through 1940. Only a handful of two-door cabriolets are known to exist, and this one was restored in the 1970s. The car is accompanied by an Adler motorcycle, bicycle, and typewriter so you can own one of each of the company’s products. The package is expected to fetch $170,000-$190,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | March 3, 2021
Photo – Bonhams
Here’s a car I’ve wanted to feature for years. For a while, about a decade ago, these were popping up for sale right and left. And then the trail went cold. Spoiler alert: the current owner of this car bought it in 2012, which aligns with my timeline.
Let’s start with the 402, which was Peugeot’s large family car produced between 1935 and 1942. About 75,000 were built. Most were factory sedans, but there were plenty of aftermarket coachbuilt versions as well.
Some of those were cars built for Parisian Peugeot dealer Emile Darl’Mat. Darl’Mat obtained permission from Peugeot to commission a run of sports cars to celebrate Peugeot’s history at Le Mans. Marcel Pourtout’s company was brought in to body the cars, which were initially based on the smaller 302 chassis. Production shifted to the 402 before too long, which offered a larger, 2.0-liter inline-four rated at 55 horsepower. All of them were streamlined French masterpieces.
This car is one of 53 Darl’Mat roadsters built, and an additional 20 coupes and 32 convertibles were also made. Only about 30 survive. Darl’Mat’s vision of a sporty Peugeot really took off when his namesake cars ended up running well at Le Mans in 1937 and 1938.
The pre-sale estimate on this car (400233) is $430,000-$670,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | March 6-7, 2020
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
When Anthony Lago bought out failing Talbot in 1936, he went about turning the company around. A big part of his plan were models like this, the T23. It was one of the first new models introduced, and it was downmarket from the later, extremely grand, models like the T26 and T150C.
Power is from a 4.0-liter inline-six good for 140 horsepower. Dubbed the “Baby Talbot,” the cars still wore fanciful bodies like this one, which was built by the factory but designed in partnership with Figoni.
It wears an older restoration and has a very nice-looking red and wood interior. The bigger Talbot-Lagos command big money. This Baby should bring between $300,000-$400,000… which is still a decent amount. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
1938 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 B Pescara Cabriolet by Worblaufen
Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 7, 2020
Photo – Artcurial
The Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 was introduced in 1934 and was updated to “B” specification in 1935. That car remained in production through 1938. Different models were offered from the factory, many of which ended up with coachbuilt bodies. The 2300 B Pescara was sold from 1935 through 1938. Only 120 were produced.
This car was bodied by Worblaufen of Switzerland and was first shown at the 1938 Geneva Motor Show. The car was restored by a previous owner in 1983 and has since held up very well.
Power is from by a 2.3-liter inline-six good for 95 horsepower. This pre-war European beauty is expected to sell for between $725,000-$825,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Artcurial.
