The Grand Sport Talbot-Lagos of Pebble Beach

110114 1948 Saoutchik fastback coupe, Cussler family, Arvada, CO. Clive Cussler bought this car from Jackson Brooks for $32,500 in 1978 after a total restoration.

But for us this superb Saoutchik will always be remembered as the car that longtime VeloceToday reader Jim Bandy purchased in the early 1960s and drove while serving in France. He traded a 1954 Buick for the Talbot.

110124 1950 Pennock coupe, Steve & Marilee Hamilton. Ashes to Ashes. Not the car, but when previous owner, collector Vojta Mashek died, he requested that his ashes be scattered over the cars in his collection, one being this low mileage Pennock bodied coupe.

That Mashek’s ashes might be somewhere in the car did not deter Steve Hamilton to embark on major restoration in 2012. The styling might be considered a bit controversial.

110160 1951 Stablimenti Farina cabriolet, Merle & Peter Mullin, Los Angeles. Brandes Elitch has written on the beauty of Italian cars. 110160 was the only GS to receive Italian coachwork as its first body and is perhaps one of the most beautiful of the lot. That said, Farina might have been influenced by a design by Philippe Charbonneaux for the Delahaye 235.

Peter Mullin had the car restored in 2010. The original eggshell white paint was changed to a red so dark it could be black. It may have been painted in that color to impress the judges, but in this case the original white paint made the car look a good deal better.

110113 1948 Franay coupe, Munday Auto Collection, Austin TX. With its dramatic lines, this Grand Sport is both elegant and a bit klutzy and thick at the same time. At some point early in its career, the original Talbot grille was replaced with the Ferrari-like grille it has today.

The same thing occurred with the similar Franay convertible, 110121; an accident, then Bingo, a Ferrari. Like many of the Grand Sports, it came to the U.S. and was eventually found and restored by Steve Cortinovis circa 1988.

110103 1948 Figoni fastback coupe, Robert Kudela, Dhropyne, Czech Republic. Not a good day for Figoni, whose attempt to incorporate flashy, swoopy lines into a modern post war shape fell far short of the astounding prewar teardrop design that graced the T150 SS.

This one and only was found and saved by well-known Talbot Lago collector Lindley Locke of LA, who didn’t restore it but salted it away for 50 years. After his death, his widow, Betty Locke, commissioned a restoration to be ready for the 2013 Pebble Beach event.

110156 1951 Saoutchik coupe, CMG Classics, San Ramon, CA. Saoutchik built bodies for six of the Grand Sports, and this one featured a notchback rather than the typical fastback. The last ten GS models had a longer wheelbase which enhanced proportions and must have made designers breathe a sigh of relief. Originally black, upon its arrival in California in the 1980s the notchback Saoutchik was painted in a red and black two tone scheme that was striking, but a bit over the top. In the hands of a new owner, it was apparently returned to the original black, and unlike the Mullin Farina, looks right in a dark color.

110117 1949 Dubos cabriolet, Michael Regalia, Sun Valley CA. While the 36-odd Grand Sport series produced a wide range of stunning coachwork, our choice for the nicest, cleanest and most well proportioned Grand Sport was this Dubos convertible, based very closely on a design by Carlos Delaisse. The Dubos is another GS that ended up with Lindley Locke, who had difficulties driving the car due to the proximity of the steering wheel and no seat adjustment. His wife Betty, however, had no problems and for years showed the essentially unrestored car in many events.