Baillon collection

Chassis #110109 as found in the Baillon Collection. (Artcurial Motorcars)

By Peter M. Larsen
Click on photos to enlarge

This is the third amazing Saoutchik-bodied barnfind in the Baillon collection. The chassis was delivered on November 5, 1949 to the Carrosserie Saoutchik at no. 46 rue Jacques Dulud in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Only 32 short wheelbase (265 cm) race-derived Grand Sport chassis were constructed by Talbot between 1948 and 1952. T26GS #110109 is one of these very rare and extremely desirable chassis.

1949 TALBOT-LAGO T26 GRAND SPORT SAOUTCHIK #110109

On the Talbot production card, which is reproduced in the book Talbot-Lago Grand Sport – The Car from Paris by Peter M. Larsen and Ben Erickson, “Saoutchik” is written into both the carrosserie and the client fields. This indicates that Saoutchik ordered chassis #110109 directly from the Talbot-Lago factory to be bodied at his own expense for show purposes. Saoutchik fitted chassis #110109 with an exquisite fastback coupé design which had first been shown at the 1948 Paris Salon.

Chassis #100272 as found. Even in a state of decay, it has lost none of its intensity or beauty. (Artcurial Motorcars)

By Peter M. Larsen

From the VeloceToday Archives, 2015

Read Part 1

TALBOT-LAGO T26 RECORD SAOUTCHIK #100272

Talbot-Lago T26 Record chassis #100272 is the second of the three momentous Saoutchik barnfinds in the collection of the late Jacques Baillon. The emergence of this extremely rare car is all the more remarkable, as it was believed lost.

It shares the chassis as well as its powerful engine and mechanicals with Talbot-Lago T26 #100239 which was featured last week and is one of 208 T26 Records manufactured in 1948. The vast majority of these cars were given one of a number of factory body styles manufactured in-house by Talbot. #100272 is one of the rare instances where a Record chassis was sent to a prominent Carrosserie to receive a one-off body. The price of the Record chassis alone was an astronomical 1,165,000 francs in 1948. Saoutchik charged 2,500,000 to 3,000,000 francs for a full-size convertible body. When delivered, the price of admission for #100272 would have approached 4,000,000 francs, more than enough to buy ten complete Citroën Traction Avants!

By Peter M. Larsen

From the VeloceToday Archives, January, 2015

There are barnfinds. And then there are barnfinds. Imagine the reaction when the corrugated siding of the lean-to next to the secluded château in the west of France came down and a long-lost Talbot-Lago T26 Record chassis came to light. And more: this T26 chassis # 100239 was not just fitted with a factory body, but with a unique and rakish fastback coupé design built by the Carrosserie Jacques Saoutchik in the rue Jacques Dulud in Neuilly-sur-Seine!

Here is the first of three articles about the three extraordinary Saoutchik cars found in the Baillon collection.

Chassis #110109 as found in the Baillon Collection. (Artcurial Motorcars)

By Peter M. Larsen
Click on photos to enlarge

This is the third amazing Saoutchik-bodied barnfind in the Baillon collection. The chassis was delivered on November 5, 1949 to the Carrosserie Saoutchik at no. 46 rue Jacques Dulud in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Only 32 short wheelbase (265 cm) race-derived Grand Sport chassis were constructed by Talbot between 1948 and 1952. T26GS #110109 is one of these very rare and extremely desirable chassis.

1949 TALBOT-LAGO T26 GRAND SPORT SAOUTCHIK #110109

Read Part 1 chassis #100239.
Read Part 2 chassis #100272

On the Talbot production card, which is reproduced in the book Talbot-Lago Grand Sport – The Car from Paris by Peter M. Larsen and Ben Erickson, “Saoutchik” is written into both the carrosserie and the client fields. This indicates that Saoutchik ordered chassis #110109 directly from the Talbot-Lago factory to be bodied at his own expense for show purposes. Saoutchik fitted chassis #110109 with an exquisite fastback coupé design which had first been shown at the 1948 Paris Salon. A total of six Grand Sport chassis received this swoopy body. The first two had a low roofline. When it was discovered that the car was difficult to drive for anyone much more than five feet tall, a new version was developed with a slightly higher roofline. Four of these “high-roof” coupés were built, and #110109 is one of these four cars.

Grand Sport #110109 in the Bois de Boulogne, February 1950. (Collection Peter Larsen)

Chassis #100272 as found. Even in a state of decay, it has lost none of its intensity or beauty. (Artcurial Motorcars) Click to enlarge.

By Peter M. Larsen

Read Part 1

TALBOT-LAGO T26 RECORD SAOUTCHIK #100272

Talbot-Lago T26 Record chassis #100272 is the second of the three momentous Saoutchik barnfinds in the collection of the late Jacques Baillon. The emergence of this extremely rare car is all the more remarkable, as it was believed lost.

It shares the chassis as well as its powerful engine and mechanicals with Talbot-Lago T26 #100239 which was featured last week and is one of 208 T26 Records manufactured in 1948. The vast majority of these cars were given one of a number of factory body styles manufactured in-house by Talbot. #100272 is one of the rare instances where a Record chassis was sent to a prominent Carrosserie to receive a one-off body. The price of the Record chassis alone was an astronomical 1,165,000 francs in 1948. Saoutchik charged 2,500,000 to 3,000,000 francs for a full-size convertible body. When delivered, the price of admission for #100272 would have approached 4,000,000 francs, more than enough to buy ten complete Citroën Traction Avants!