The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
By Gijsbert-Paul Berk
From the VeloceToday Archives, 2012
When Pierre Louis Delâge (1874 – 1947) was still a child he lost the sight of one eye. This did not prevent him from graduating in 1893 from the Ecole des Arts et Metiers in Angers with an engineering degree and then to fulfill his military service in Algeria. In 1905, after working for Turgan-Foy and Peugeot, Louis Delâge began for himself as a car manufacturer and soon engaged his cars in races with considerable success.
By Pete Vack
Read Part II
All images are from the book “Delage, France’s Finest Car”
It is not our goal here to provide any kind of in-depth history of Delage; that is the purpose of the two volume set we describe. The following are just a few highlights of the fantastic cars from this distinguished French manufacturer. Part I will deal with the years up to 1920, in Part II will briefly cover the 1920-1935 years, the difference between Delage and Delahaye, and why. All of this is based on information and images from “Delage, France’s Finest Car, Volume 1 and 2 by Cabart, Rouxel and Burgess-Wise.
By Pete Vack
Read Part I
All images are from the book “Delage, France’s Finest Car”
The Great War came and went, and the fortunes of Louis Delage increased manifold as the factory turned out bullets. A failure to ensure munitions quality which caused a scandal. After the devasting war profiteering became an issue, and the French government would argue over how to tax excess war profits until the start of World War II.