Cars
The Nostalgia of Forgotten Gods: Delahaye, France, 1894-1954
Delahaye, a French automotive icon from 1894 to 1954, epitomized elegance with the enduring 135 model. Despite post-war decline, its legacy lives on through coveted vintage editions, symbolizing timeless sophistication.
France was one of the countries that was most closely involved in the creation of the automobile in the late 1800s. Renault, Panhard (here you can read Panhard's story: https://roarington.com/media-house/stories/the-nostalgia-of-forgotten-gods-panhard-and-levassor-france-1886-1967) and Citroën all proved to be pioneers.
Among numerous others was Emile Delahaye, who created his own brand in 1894 in Tours. As a 51-year-old engineer and expert in steam locomotive construction, he began powering carriages with single-cylinder or twin-cylinder engines of his own construction. Two years later Emile entered one of his cars in the Paris-Marseille race and then relocated to Paris in search of greater production capacity. Unfortunately, he had to sell the company due to health reasons to Georges and Paul Morane, who maintained the brand even after the founder's death. The company prospered once they decided to also manufacture trucks, agricultural vehicles, fire trucks and military vehicles.
