Delahaye

France, 1894 – 1954

(1) Emile Delahaye, Tours, Paris, 1894 – 1898

(2) L. Desmarais et Morane, Tours, Paris, 1899 – 1906

(3) Automobiles Delahaye, Paris, 1906 – 1954

The Delahaye firm was established in 1845 and initially produced brick-making machinery, later launching out into stationary engines. The first Delahaye cars were very much on Benz lines with slow-running, rear-mounted horizontal engines and belt transmission. Radiators and frames were tubular; Archdeacon and Delahaye himself took 4th and 6th places respectively in the Paris-Marseilles-Paris Race of 1896, though the Delahaye firm took little interest in competition and their last appearance was in the Paris-Vienna (1902). By contrast, Delahaye were very interested in commercial vehicles, which made their debut in 1898 and bulked larger and larger in later years. In 1898 a 1.4-litre single and twins of 4½hp and 6hp were being made, the Paris Delahaye works were opened, and Charles Weiffenbach joined the Delahaye firm as Chief Engineer, a post he was to retain until after World War 2. By 1899, 600 Delahaye cars had been delivered, and production was running at 20 Delahaye’s a month. Emile Delahaye himself retired in 1901, when wheel steering was standardized, though the old belt-driven designs were still catalogued as late as 1904, and there was even a short-lived 1902 Delahaye model with front vertical engine and belt drive. More advanced was Delahaye Type 10B, a 2.2-litre 4-cylinder, still with aiv, but with Panhard styling, final drive by side chains, and detachable cylinder heads; this was followed by a bigger 4.4-litre Delahaye car said to develop 28bhp. In 1904 detachable heads were found on both the 2.7-litre Delahaye Type 15B twin at £420, and on a big 4.9-litre 4-cylinder Delahaye car which also had a water-cooled exhaust system. T-head engines, gate change, and ht magneto ignition made their appearance in 1905, when the range included two twins and three 4-cylinder cars, the largest an 8-litre. The King of Spain bought one of these big Delahaye cars, with two hand and two foot brakes, and a foot-operated decompressor, in 1906. In 1907 licence-production of the Delahaye make was undertaken in Germany by Presto, transverse rear suspension was featured, and the small 2-cylinder model acquired shaft drive. In the usual French tradition L-head Monobloc engines appeared in 1908 on the 1.9-litre 12/16hp (Delahaye Type 32), but the chain-driven cars were listed as late as 1911. An even smaller 1.2-litre 4-cylinder Delahaye sold for £240 in 1909, and the new monobloc engines were used by White in America as the basis for their first petrol car, the 20/30. 1911 brought an interesting departure in the shape of the 3.2-litre Delahaye Type 44, a blockcast V6 with 4-speed gearbox. It sold for £470 in England, and this Delahaye was still being made in 1914. A 4-cylinder car was used for tests with the Parry Thomas electric transmission. Apart from such ingenious features as pressure lubcrication to the spring shackles, the other 1914 Delahaye models were conventional monobloc 4-cylinder machines, available with detachable wheels and electric lighting. They came in 1.6-litre, 2.3-litre, 2.6-litre, 3-litre, 4-litre and 5.7-litre sizes, all but the smallest with 4-speed gearboxes. After World War 1 the Delahaye company settled down to 14 years of stodgy, dependable, and uninteresting cars, now with full electrical equipment and V-radiators, though at first the foot-operated transmission brake was retained. 4-cylinder Delahaye models were sold with 2.6-litre and 3-litre sv engines, but there was also a 4.1-litre six (Delahaye Type 82), with the unusual combination of detachable head and valve caps, which acquired front wheel brakes in 1921. All other Delahaye models were so equipped by 1925, but in the meanwhile the firm was ringing the changes on a complicated and dull range which included a 1.8-litre in sv and ohv versions, and two bigger inlet over exhaust fours, the 2.4-litre Delahaye 15/35hp and the 2.9-litre Delahaye 18/40hp. 4-speed gearboxes, pump cooling, and wooden wheels were regular features. In 1927 Delahaye formed a consortium with Chenard-Walcker, Donnet and (for a short while only) Unic, which was supposed to rationalize production, and did to the extent that it was hard to distinguish the 6-cylinder Delahaye for sale from its Chenard-Walcker counterpart, though the former had full overhead valves and the latter inlet over exhaust. These sixes appeared in 1928, the Delahaye cars coming in 2.5-litre and 2.9-litre sixes, with magneto ignition up to 1929, and coil thereafter. 1929 was also the last year for the V-radiatored Delahaye for sale, which gave way to an American-style ribbon-type. In 1930 there were also two 4-cylinder models, the smaller a straight-forward sv 1½-litre (Delahaye Type 109), which was still listed in 1932. A bigger 6-cylinder for sale (Delahaye Type 126) pointed the way to better things, and in 1934 independent front suspension was offered on the 2150cc Delahaye Super 12 4-cylinder and on the Delahaye 18CV Superlux, an ohv 6-cylinder which was also available with a Wilson gearbox.   In 1935 Delahaye bought the ailing Delage company, and in 1936 Delahaye were supplying 2.2-litre ohv 4-cylinder engines to Amilcar for installation in that firm’s Pégase model. More important, they had come out with two exciting 6-cylinder sports Delahaye models, both with ohv push-rod engines, independent front suspension, Bendix brakes, and synchromesh or Cotal gearboxes; the 3.2-litre Delahaye Coupe des Alpes had 110bhp, and the 3.5-litre Delahaye Type 135 120bhp. Both were capable of over 100mph in standard form, and the Delahaye 135s proceeded to take 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th places in the 1936 French Sports Car Grand Prix, following this up by wins in 1937 and 1939 Monte Carlo Rallies, and at Le Mans in 1938. A Delahaye type 135 also won the controversial ‘Fastest Sports Car Race’ at Brooklands in 1939, where the opposition included a 2.9-litre Alfa Romeo. There was a long-chassis version of Type 135, the Delahaye Type 148, and in 1937 came the Jean Francois-designed Delahaye Type 145, a short stroke 4½-litre ohv V12 with Cotal gearbox and De Dion rar axle; its output was 238bhp, and the two-seater was capable of 165mph. Delahaye tried very hard with this car during the 1938 GP season, even beating Mercedes-Benz at Pau, as well as finishing 4th in the Mille Miglia – a remarkable double. The Delahaye was outclassed, however, and even more so in 1939, despite the introduction of a single-seater version. A very few ‘cooking’ V12s with conventional rear axles, hydraulic brakes, and exotic roadster coachwork were sold by Delahaye in 1939 at £1485; though the 135 continued to do well. During World War 2 Delahaye joined Baron Petiet’s G.F.A. (Groupe Francaise Automobile) selling organization, these initials appearing on the radiator badges of all post-war Delahaye cars, though the group ceased production in 1952. Production of the 4-cylinder Delahaye 134 as well as the Delahaye 135 was resumed in 1946, though the former did not last long. Output of the sports cars was now 130bhp, and narrower, more ornate radiator grilles were used. In 1948 came the 4½-litre Delahaye Type 175 series with hydraulic brakes; output was quoted as 185bhp, but they were not a success and were dropped from the range in 1951. Penal taxation was in any case making life difficult for France’s quality-car makers, and combined Delahaye and Delage sales dropped from 483 in 1950 to only 77 in 1951. In which year Delahaye won the Monte Carlo Rally for the second and last time. It also marked the introduction of the Delahaye company’s last new designs – a Delahaye jeep-type 4x4 with all-round independent suspension, and an improved 3½-litre, the Delahaye Type 235 with aerodynamic bodywork, its output increased to 152bhp, and still with mechanical brakes. The marque was still exhibiting at the Salon in 1953, but the following year Delahaye merged with Hotchkiss, and under the new management only trucks were made. After 1956 these too only bore the name of Hotchkiss.    

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at