Rebuilt
In 1927, Louis Delage was at the peak of his fame: with the 15 S8 and driver Robert Benoist, his brand, founded in 1905, had won all European Grand Prix races and secured the unofficial world championship. The heart of the racing car was a 1.5-litre inline eight-cylinder engine that, with a Roots compressor, produced an incredible 170 hp at 8,000 rpm, which was considered completely impossible at the time. However, the racing team also ate a deep hole into Delage’s wallet, all four 15 S8s had to be sold, and motorsport was no longer an option. And somehow the brand never recovered from these problems. The fine D8 and D6 did come onto the market, but in 1935 the British entrepreneur Walter Sinclair Watney took over, followed by Delahaye.
It was under Watney that the Delage D6-70 shown here, chassis number #50688, was sent to Figoni to be fitted with chic clothes. These were so pretty that the Delage, powered by a 2.7-litre six-cylinder engine, promptly won a few beauty contests. At some point, the car caught the eye of Louis Gérard, the son, who asked his father to buy it. Dad did as he was told – and his cousin then realised that he had bought himself a racing car. So Gérard entered the Delage in the 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans, even though he had no racing experience whatsoever. And against strong opposition, he achieved the more than just amazing fourth place overall, winning his class. Watney, the new patron, was impressed and promised Gérard factory support if he would equip the D6-70 with an open racing body. So Gérard went to Figoni, ordered – and received the car as it looks today.
At the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1938, #50688 then had engine problems; the vehicle probably had a displacement of three litres by then, with about 140 hp. When the Delage was running smoothly again, Gérard managed second place at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps – and in September of the same year, he won the Tourist Trophy, which was so important in Great Britain. This was probably why Peter Aitken bought the Delage from him at the end of the year (which enabled Gérard to afford a Maserati 6CL) – and won further races before the war. And from 1946, the racing career then continued until 1948, after a sixth place at the 12 Hours of Paris at Montlhéry, the D6-70 was finally allowed to retire. After various restorations by various owners, #50688 will be auctioned by Artcurial in Paris at the beginning of February 2025, with an estimated price of 1.3 to 1.6 million euros.
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