The Nostalgia of Forgotten Gods: Delahaye, France, 1894-1954

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.

The history of the Delahaye brand began in 1894 in Tours, France. The first cars were carriages powered by single- or twin-cylinder engines manufactured by the company itself.

In 1935 Delahaye acquired the Delage brand, inheriting its technical knowledge gained from competitions. This was how the 135 was born, which drove to prominence with victories at the 1936 French Grand Prix, the 1937 Montercarlo Rallye and above all at the 1938 24 Hours of Le Mans, beating more renowned manufacturers of the caliber of Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot and Talbot.

Delahaye became a major player in racing in the mid-1930s, achieving several successes, including overall victory at the 1938 Le Mans 24 Hours with the 135 S.

The 135 was the signature car for Delahaye, produced from 1935 to 1954. The main reason for the 135's continued popularity was surely the elegance given to the model by the coachbuilders who designed it: Figoni & Falaschi, Ghia, Saoutchik, Pennock, Pininfarina and Vietti, to name the most important ones. Before the war, royal families, nobles and industrialists longed for a 135 in their garage. The brand prided itself on the fact that the car was 100 percent French throughout every component.

The Delahaye 135 was produced for a total of 19 years, both as a racing and luxury road version. It was "dressed" by the most important coachbuilders of the time, pictured here is the 135 MS by Figoni & Falaschi.

In the late 1940s, like many of the prewar luxury brands, Delahaye began its slow decline: The market had fundamentally changed, the luxury of the past was no longer appealing. The coup de grace arrived fatally with the launch of the new 235 model in 1951. Designed to restore the brand to its former glory, it did not find the necessary number of buyers and the company eventually closed its doors in 1954. Another French manufacturer called Hotchkiss purchased the rights to the brand with the intention of reviving it, but the attempt failed and Delahaye thus disappeared from the automotive scene. Today, the nostalgic memory lives on through the Flamboyant lines of the rarest versions of the 135 featured at Concours d'Elegance and major international auctions winning prizes and setting sale prices often exceeding $1 million.

The 235 model was launched in 1951 to revive the fortunes of the Delahaye brand. Unfortunately, the sales were scarce and the company had to shut down in 1954.