Delahaye 135 MS Cabriolet, Henri Chapron, 1947

Location:
Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, 2009

Owner: Sam & Emily Mann | Englewood, New Jersey

Prologue:

Image Source: Nikon D200 (10.2 MP)

Prior to flying across the continent for my first visit to Pebble Beach, I'd spotted an article depicting a few of the cars expected to appear, this Delahaye among them. I'd also known of the emerald two-tone La Vedette cabriolet from a ridiculous Dennis Adler book that surveyed coachbuilt automobiles, so I recognized the similarities. (That book went into storage when I left for college and wound up bound together in an unbreakable wad of high-gloss starch after water damage soaked it through.) When it came time to shoot, the typical grey light of the northern California coast subdued much of the car's color. But this neutralizing light also controls glare and eliminates the blue-light reflection common to metal on bright, sunlit days. Reviving the color digitally, we're left with bold sapphire and cobalt panels, and while I don't quite use the same process any longer, looking back I think this old gallery holds up pretty well.

At the time, I wanted to achieve a studio look like the work of Philadelphia-based photographer Michael Furman. I looked for chances to use superimposed backdrops, and felt that an otherwise rudimentary door handle detail would work nicely (1). Now, in his "Motorcars of the Classic Era" book, Furman uses the same pairing of car and detail for a two-tone red Delahaye 135 MS Cabriolet with Chapron coachwork. His photograph actually popped up in my head one day and I realized, uggh, that's a strong coincidence. So I plead accident in the similarity, or at least a strong subconscious influence. Anyhow, there's no comparing his perfect lighting and incontestable Hasselblad with my primitive techniques and obsolete Nikon.

I've always recognized the rear perspective (4) as one of the first images where my processing took on a graphic quality, meaning sharp with high-contrast. I wouldn't commit to that approach just yet, but after deciding that I should, I revisited this set and finished the flank shot (3). Though not shown here, the multicolor tones look striking in monochrome.

References:

• UltimateCarPage: Though without this particular Chapron design, you can browse a nice assortment of Delahaye 135 examples.
• Bonhams: Their entry on a 1939 Chapron Cabriolet gives a good history of the model.

For the 1948 Paris Auto Salon, Henri Chapron debuted a handsome Delahaye cabriolet titled "La Vedette," which roughly translates to 'starlette' in the sense of a darling celebrity. A small number of Delahaye cars bear coachwork in this same Vedette style—perhaps four or five—of which this sapphire example is one. Minor differences can be found between each of these Vedette-inspired cabriolets, but all are lavishly ornamented, and many share the remarkable Lucite steering wheel shown on this car.

The Delahaye 135 was born in 1935, the product of engineer Jean François. Emblematic of the marque, the 135 in competition trim won the Monte Carlo rally in 1937, and also the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1938, while in high society the chassis wore some of the most flamboyant, avante garde fashion known to the modernist imagination.

While the model enjoyed its greatest success before the War, the 135 would be Delahaye's mainstay until 1954, the veritable end of the marque's automobile production. In this time the 135 played out a swansong of motoring elegance, culminating 14 years of production on both sides of a jilting global conflict, though without much relevance to postmodern man in its final years. Though perhaps difficult to believe, this is the type of car that Ferrari and Jaguar will replace by the end of the decade. And with that, the flamboyance will be mostly forgotten... at least until present day when we will have revived our interest in artistry for its own sake.

Today the Delahaye 135 is revered for its great breadth of custom coachwork; it is the most plentiful of the classic French sports cars and was bodied collectively by most of the great carrosseries, save for the few stripped-down racing cars prepared by the factory. Delahaye's devotion to the 135 gave its fold variation that today seems endless compared with its contemporaries. For context, the number of Delahaye 135 cars produced is roughly three times the number of Bugatti Type 57 cars. Perhaps the roadgoing 135 is not the thoroughbred that is a period Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, or Talbot-Lago, but the Delahaye is pure grand touring charm in the classic French style—too much chrome, color too bright, and charisma dripping down the skirts.

Motor: 3,557 cc straight 6-cylinder, cast-iron block and hemi-head

Valvetrain: OHV, 2 valves per cylinder

Aspiration: triple Solex 40 PAI carburetors

Power: about 125 bhp @ 4,000 rpm

Drivetrain: Wilson 4-speed epicyclic preselector gearbox, rear-wheel drive

Front Suspension: transverse semi-elliptic leafsprings with top links, and transverse Rafex friction dampers

Rear Suspension: live axle with quarter-elliptic leafsprings and transverse Rafex friction dampers

Architecture: steel ladder frame chassis with coachwork by Henri Chapron

Wheelbase: 2,950 mm (116.1 inches)

Etymology:

The Delahaye 135 is a sporting derivative of the well-to-do 138 Superluxe. The numerical designation might involve differences in the front and rear track—I remember once reading something to this effect, and cannot locate anything conclusive at the moment. The 'MS' designation stands for 'modifié speciale,' and often denotes triple-carburetor intake. While this car closely resembles the Paris Auto Salon show car, "La Vedette," I hesitate to apply the same moniker. The carrosserie Henri Chapron of Paris designed and fabricated the body.

Figures:

Delahaye produced some 2,000 135 cars from 1935 to 1954, with the War intervening. Of the lot—which breaks down into coupes, cabriolets, and saloons—Henri Chapron bodied a large number, having been contracted for a catalogue of styles. These cars are all characteristic of Chapron, but the design shown here is perhaps iconic of the partnership. A sibling of Chapron's "La Vedette" show car, perhaps only five were built so closely to its detail.

Color on Canvas: Paint and Chrome as Seen on the Delahaye Chapron Vedette

Many of Chapron's designs for the post-War Delahaye feature bicolor paint divided by broad mouldings with chrome trim. The split fender design is also something of a Chapron hallmark. Used liberally on many different Chapron designs, this feature will be used by many other carrosseries for similar 135 coachwork.

Muc of the chrome accentuates linear elements, and not curves—running along the shoulder line, underscoring the doors, lining the base of the skirts, ornamenting the sides of the bonnet, and creating a whiskery mustache on the fascia. An exception, a shroud traces the inside arc of the rear fender, echoing the bicolor segments. Another smart feature is how the semicircular scoop in the middle of the front guard pairs with the grille, which runs nearly the full height of the nose. This complement of chrome reinforces the pre-War trend of high-class motoring, and further alerts our eyes to the revelation that there is a large, cleanly designed canvas underneath.

La Vedette: Comparing the Sapphire Delahaye Chapron to the Emerald Paris Show Car

Faithful to the Paris show car in nearly every aspect, the most notable exterior difference on the sapphire car illustrated here is that it wears single chrome speedlines on the fenders, whereas La Vedette wears two each. This blue car also wears ornate, Art Deco fittings for its mascot, door handles, and boot latch, whereas La Vedette has no extra sculpture tacked onto its extremities. Inside, the dashboard layout is nearly identical, with the same incredible Lucite steering wheel inset with a St. Christophe medallion—the patron saint of travelers.

In some way, identifying the emerald car as La Vedette but not the sapphire car is disingenuous. Coachbuilders catalogued designs but still liked to differentiate one example from another to grant each some unique character. With further fact-finding (and more time devoted to Delahaye), we may advance the nomenclature.

Ornamental Paradox: Delahaye Chapron Style in the Post-War Era

Altogether, Chapron's cabriolet is an overflowing collection of anachronistic fanciness, but it's also so well brought together that the whole piece still looks clean. For example, look at the height difference between the front and rear fenders; here, the two-tone treatment actually hides the otherwise disproportionately bulbous front wings. And this is the paradox, how fanciness helps to make the design whole. Even similar Chapron designs don't fair so well—"Le Dandy," for instance, with a larger 175 chassis, throws the proportions with its more truck-like posture. And so this Delahaye 135 is truly the sapphire sister of the emerald Vedette, a deeper glow than the sparkle of the Paris starlette, but every bit as elegant.