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Delage

Driving the Big Ones: Delage Bequet Hispano Suiza

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The Delage Bequet at Kop Hill, 2013. This car was originally built as a 2 liter V12. The car was rebuilt for Maurice Bequet and was fitted with a 12 Liter Hispano Suiza V8 aero engine in 1926. The runs are not timed but this did not seem to deter Boswell's spirited run. Jonathan Sharp photo.

Those who have ridden as co-pilot say that a desire to survive is their dominant emotion.

By Alexander Boswell, owner, driver

It’s an amazing experience to drive any car built for Grand Prix racing. One knows that relentless effort, concentration of resources, and usually a huge budget have contributed to the creation of something technologically remarkable. Despite its 90th anniversary, the 2LCV Delage still encapsulates all these elements. In 1923 this was the only entry from the stable of the Delage company, and therefore it represents the pinnacle of the technology of the time. This car was driven in the French GP by René Thomas, the Sebastian Vettel of his day.

The Delage was raced in 1923 with the world’s first V-12 racing engine. At 2 liters capacity, each piston was no bigger than an eggcup. It was a complex engine, and by our standards today, only moderately powered.

That’s why the addition of a 12 liter Hispano Suiza out of a SPAD fighter in 1925 created such a sensational machine. The brilliance of the finest 1923 racing chassis was mated to the effortless power of a big low-revving engine. This was former test-pilot Maurice Bequet’s inspiration….and it’s still causing a sensation to this day.

A Hispano Suiza H8 similar to the engine in the Delage Bequet.

The car is delicate in every way apart from the motor. Once those great pistons start moving and the twin-plug ignition fires the mixture, the beast is dominated by the engine. Smoke and flames emerge from the stub exhausts, and the noise is a sharp low bark. In the cockpit the engine feels frighteningly alive. Let out the clutch and the narrow wheels spin uncontrollably. In first gear it’s doing 30mph whilst the engine runs at idle. Second gear is good for nearly 100; third is geared at 65mph per 1000rpm, and over 150 mph is possible. [Read more…] about Driving the Big Ones: Delage Bequet Hispano Suiza

Hugues Vanhoolandt at the Louwman Museum

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Hugues Vanhoolandt takes us on tour of the Louwman Museum, also known as the Dutch National Motor Museum.

The Dutch National Motor Museum is also called the Louwman Museum, due to the name of its founder, P.W. Louwman, who began to show his collection of cars in a museum in 1934. Mr. Louwman was Dodge and Chrysler importer in the Netherlands and his son, Evert, is now the Toyota and Lexus importer.

The Louwman collection is the oldest private collection of motor cars in the world.
At the time of our visit, the museum housed a special exhibition of pre-war Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows, on loan from the Stuttgart Museum, but Italian and French cars are always well represented in the collection.

Louwman’s will send the famous Roland Garros Black Bess Bugatti to the Paris Retromobile show in February. Read about Garros and the Black Bess Bugatti in VeloceToday this month.

This 1933 Maserati 8CM saw three of the greatest drivers of the time behind the wheel; Raymond Sommer, Tazio Nuvolari and Piero Taruffi.

1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Le Mans Touring was driven at Le Mans by Louis Chiron and Franco Cortese.

1941 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Spider Corsa ‘Balena’ was an experimental car in which the engine and the body were developed by Gioacchino Colombo, who later designed the 125 Ferrari V12.

[Read more…] about Hugues Vanhoolandt at the Louwman Museum

1923 French Grand Prix: Epilogue

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Did the daring new designs by Voisin and Bugatti advance the art of race car engineering? Read Gijsbert-Paul Berk’s surprising analysis. (Above, Alfas at Lyon, 1924.)

By Gijsbert-Paul Berk

When the dust had finally settled down and the excitement of the race was ebbing away, many of the French spectators went home somewhat disillusioned. The expected duel between the Bugatti and Voisin cars never happened. It was obvious from the beginning that the six-cylinder sleeve valves of the Voisin “Laboratoires” were no match for the more powerful eight cylinders of the Bugatti Tanks. The new V12 Delage had retired within a few laps from the start, and after a valiant struggle the two Tours-based Rolland-Pilains were also forced to retire with mechanical problems.

No, it had not been a glorious day for the French manufacturers. In spite of the fact that a Bugatti and a Voisin had finished in third and fifth place, the foreigners in their Fiats and Sunbeams had dominated this Grand Prix de France from the first lap onward.

And even more importantly, did the outcome of this battle between conventional Grand Prix cars and the revolutionary and daring new designs from Bugatti and Voisin have much of an influence on the future of Grand Prix racing?

The sad truth is that from an engineering point of view, it set the clock back.

The 1924 contenders: Improved engines, horsecart chassis, minimal streamlining.

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Palos Verdes Concours September 16th, 2012

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Find all the Palos Verdes Concours winners at end of article.

By Wallace Wyss
Pictures by Richard Bartholomew and Wallace Wyss

Palos Verdes is a peninsula that sticks out into the ocean between LA harbor and Redondo Beach in Southern California. It can be a spectacular place, especially when the weather is acting up on the way there, as it was September 16th when the Palos Verdes show kicked off. It was dewy, cloudy, sunny, and variations of all of these every five minutes, but was very photogenic. Fortunately once we got there it all turned out to be the best weather imaginable–82 deg. or so with clouds hanging on the top of the hills. I bet those who didn’t go because they saw bad weather outside their window regretted it later. [Read more…] about Palos Verdes Concours September 16th, 2012

1923 Tours Grand Prix: Results, Videos, Specs and More

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You didn’t think we’d finish Tours up without a full spec and result section? Below, just that. Below that, some YouTube links to several videos depicting the 1923 French Grand Prix.

Above, a notice about the 90th year celebration event at Tours which will take place next year. If you are interested in participating contact: grandprixdetours@wanadoo.fr.

Next week, Gijsbert-Paul Berk will provide an analysis of the race and its legacy. It will surprise you. [Ed.]
[Read more…] about 1923 Tours Grand Prix: Results, Videos, Specs and More

1923 French Grand Prix Part 1: The Circuit and Practice

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By Gijsbert-Paul Berk

The circuit was a closed-off triangle of public roads, just north of the city of Tours. The starting line was situated just outside a small borough called La Noue-Guérinet, between the villages Neuillé-Pont-Pierre and La Membrolle on the Route Nationale 158. The numbers on the map above correspond to the photographs below. The 1923 Grand Prix of Tours was much tougher and much longer than today’s Grand Prix events. In order to finish, the participants had to cover a distance of 800 km (497 miles). As the ‘Circuit de la Touraine’ had a total length of 22.83 km, (14.1 miles) this meant 35 grueling laps. On the straights some of the cars reached speeds of nearly 200 km/h (125 mph). Around the circuit. 22 marshaling posts had been installed each of them equipped with a telephone in direct and permanent contact with the officials at race control in front of the grandstand.

Come with us as we take a lap around the 1923 French Grand Prix.

Photo 1: At the starting line. At one side were the tribunes and a grandstand for 4000 spectators. Note the direction of travel.

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Hugues Vanhoolandt at Retromobile

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Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

Graham Gauld brought you the commentary this year, and below, Hugues Vanhoolandt provides a look at the colors of red and blue at this year’s event. Here are the selections from the cars of France.

Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport

Cooperation between France and Italy resulted in this Ferrari-like 1950 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport with a barchetta body by Motto of Torino in 1952.

Renault Electric

Back to the future with this Renault Dauphine with electric motor. Henney Motors and Bell Labs, both American companies, experimented with an electric powered car, fifty years ahead of their time …or perhaps fifty years after!

After Ralph Lauren last year, it was the turn of another US collector, Peter Mullin, to show his best pieces in Paris, among them the Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic s/n 57374 …

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Musings at the Mullin

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Photo by Hugues Vanhoolandt.

As we have all learned, Eric Davison has been around cars for a very long time, from his Watkins Glen days with his father to haunting car and art museums with his wife. So when we found he was going to the Mullin, we asked him to bring back a report on something off the beaten path. Said Davison of the assignment after he returned, “It sounds so very easy but when you are in the Mullin Museum and basically overwhelmed by the magnificence of the cars and of the building’s French decor and the general ambience, the task becomes more complicated.” So did he succeed and bring back a few surprises? We think so—
[Read more…] about Musings at the Mullin

French Survivor: Delage 105S

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By Pete Vack with comments and research by Daniel Cabart
(This great Delage has changed hands since this article was originally published in 2011)

The last time our readers heard much of Alex Vazeos was in an article about last year’s Ville d’Este, where he was the first entrant to brave the judges with an Etceterini, in this case the ex-Rafi Minasian Giaur. Seemingly bent on buying small Italian cars, Vazeos found others, including the purchase the editor’s old Abarth 750 Zagato to sit next to his Record Monza. Alex also owns the ex-Jack Reuter Bandini, an Abarth Simca 1300 Corsa and a very rare Moretti 1200 Grand Sport.
[Read more…] about French Survivor: Delage 105S

Delage, France’s Finest Car: A Review

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One of the many color posters and cover art that can be found in 'Delage France's Finest Car'.


“Delage France’s Finest Car”
By Daniel Cabart and Claude Rouxel
Two volumes hard bound with dust jackets and slip case, 300mm x 245mm. Pages: Vol I 376, Vol II 150. Illustrations: 1000 B&W and color images.
Dalton Watson, 2006
Price $225 USD now reduced to $169

To order this two volume set at a savings of $56 plus free shipping in the U.S. send an email to vack@cox.net with your request and mailing address. This sale ends December 31st 2011 so act now.

Review by Pete Vack
All images courtesy of Dalton Watson

This comprehensive two volume set on Delage is more like a travelogue through history, a fascinating flow of people, posters, catalogues, sidebars, notes, statistics, art and marvelous photography all presented on the highest quality binding, paper and reproduction. In fact, it is almost like walking through a museum of winding passages, with lighted windows full of interesting artifacts and artful displays that superbly illustrate the subject. [Read more…] about Delage, France’s Finest Car: A Review

Delage, France’s Finest Car: A Brief History Part 1

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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.
[Read more…] about Delage, France’s Finest Car: A Brief History Part 1

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