1937 Delahaye 135 Competition Court Torpedo Roadster by Figoni et Falaschi

130hp, 3,557cc overhead valve inline six-cylinder engine, four-speed manual gearbox, independent front suspension with transverse leaf spring, rear drive axle with elliptical springs, and mechanically actuated Bendix four-wheel drum brakes . Wheelbase: 106.29 inches. (2,700mm)

It has often been said that a great car is one that can stand entirely on its own merits. Whether moving or still, it is not only beautiful, but also has an almost magical aura that stops anyone who sees it. In the words of Thomas Wolfe, it is “freedom, sex, power, movement, color, everything.”

In the 1930s, a middle-aged illustrator and an 11-year-old boy found everything in the same car. Neither of them would ever forget it.

Paris, 1936

Chassis number 48667 was one of approximately thirty Competition Court chassis built. As described in Delahaye: Le Grande Livre, “The Type 135 Competition Court, which does not appear on any price list, represents the special ‘Grand Sport’ version of the Type 135, intended for competition. Its assembly resulted from a cocktail of parts from the Type 135 Series 3 chassis. Based on certain driving tests, many mechanical options can make a model very close to the competition chassis. Some Delahaye clients took a chance, and not without success. "Assembled based on customer demand for at least two years, their evolution is not well defined." In essence, this model was the street version of the purely racing Type 135 S.

The relatively early number of 48667 indicates that the car's chassis was probably manufactured in 1936; Therefore, it is appropriate that it has the four-speed manual gearbox. It is also worth mentioning that the original chassis label indicates the Type 135-M, which is not unexpected, as Le Grande Livre further notes: “These chassis sometimes carry the Type 135 M construction label. We are not sure the reason, but probably for homologation purposes.”

The chassis was delivered to France's most prominent coachbuilders, Figoni et Falaschi, of Paris. According to Figoni's archives, the car was not commissioned by a private individual but by Delahaye himself, indicating its intended use as a show car.

The design of the Torpedo Roadster that dresses the chassis is based on the famous car from the 1936 Paris Motor Show. Its shape has traditionally been recognized as a collaboration between Figoni and the illustrator Georges Hamel, or “Geo Ham”, who remains Widely recognized for his depictions of airplanes and automobiles on racing posters of the period. Although credit has long been given to Figoni and Ham, recent debate indicates that its roots lie in a design written and published in 1934 by designer Alexis de Sakhnoffsky. In any case, the 1936 Paris Motor Show car, built by Figoni et Falaschi in collaboration with Geo Ham, was the first of what would become a series of 13 aerodynamic bodies.

The series was made up of open and closed cars that were based on long and short chassis, and each had its own unique characteristics. When producing these later bodies, Figoni et Falaschi initially refused to acknowledge Ham's contribution to the design. The illustrator threatened to sue and an agreement was soon reached by which Ham was allowed to register bodies 6, 7 and 8 as his creations, under the Artistic Property Union. Each of these cars bore a brass tag, affixed just behind the doors, acknowledging this agreement.

One of these three cars had Delahaye factory chassis number 48667, which still retains its original label, “Creation Figoni-Falaschi-Geo Ham modele depose No. 7,” to this day. This car is one of only two surviving Short Frame Torpedo Roadsters, and is the only one to retain the original Geo Ham label. In addition to this very special feature, it was given other touches indicative of its original run as spectacular, including a fake fuel filler cap on the driver's side and the absence of rear fender-mounted courtesy lights. This car, finished in Monaco Blue and Straw Yellow, was built solely for its beauty.

The Torpedo Roadster was delivered to Delahaye on August 8, 1937. More than two months later, on October 21, it was shown at the Gardenia Concours d'Elegance de Saint-Cloud, where it was presented by Ovidio Falaschi's charming stepdaughter, Emilienne. d'Avray. Photos of the car in the concours were first published in brand expert Jean-Paul Tissot's Figoni & Delahaye.

It is unknown whether Delahaye intentionally retained the car for his own display and demonstration or it simply remained as unsold inventory during difficult economic times. However, the consensus among historians is that, around 1939, it was re-engined with an MS-spec engine. This theory is supported by the fact that the car retains its original engine tag, numbered 48667, which is an item that certainly would not have been preserved if the engine had been changed post-war.

In 1939, with this new engine installed, the Delahaye boarded ship and set out across the Atlantic Ocean in search of adventures in the New World.

New York

In Manhattan, the storm clouds of a future war were darkening overhead, but Bob Grier hardly noticed. A photographer and avid motorist, Grier filled his free time with a fabulous rotating collection of fine automobiles, which he shared with a circle of friends that included Henry Austin Clark Jr., Alec Ullman, and the great racing driver René Dreyfus. One of these cars was a Delage D8-120 Cabriolet Deltasport, which everyone in New York knew, having seen it as the star of the French Pavilion at the 1939 World's Fair. When the fair closed, Grier received the Delage, assisted by Werner Maeder, the famous Zumbach Garage and some kind firefighters, as Ralph Stein relates in The Great Cars.

In a recent conversation, Grier's daughter Lucy recalled that Delage wasn't her father's only purchase at the time. It has always been rumored that the Delahaye was displayed at the World's Fair, but Grier was almost certainly the first private owner. He also remembers family outings to Delahaye before the outbreak of war and family vacations to Sebring.

Like most early enthusiasts, Grier was forced to discontinue his stable during the hostilities of World War II. At the end of the war, he happily resumed using the Delahaye as a pleasure vehicle, and together, Grier and Delahaye helped lead the charge into the postwar glory days of the European sports car.

All the teenagers who read magazines in math class knew them by heart. When the first issue of Road & Track hit shelves in June 1947, it featured Bob Grier and his car participating in the Motor Sport Club of New York's Mohansic Lake Hill Climb on March 30. A September 1949 issue of MoToR shows that the car had been repainted, with its original color scheme reversed. The March 1950 issue of Motor Trend showed Grier and Delahaye participating in another Motor Sports Club hill climb. Yet another photo shows the car climbing a hill at the same year's Greenwood Lake Hill Climb, with a cloud of dust behind it and Grier's passenger keeping a close eye on passing brush on the side of the road.

New York City enthusiasts also knew Grier. He was a supporter of the various auto shows that took place in New York City at that time, and in 1953, he and his friend Dreyfus wrote an article for Herb Shriner's World Motor Sports Show program, which was held at the Madison Square Garden. The following year, the Delahayes performed at that event, which is now held in January.

Meanwhile, the Delahaye remained in good working order and had a stock of spare parts, which were purchased directly from the factory in 1948, as documented by correspondence and receipts included in the car's file.

However, Bob Grier's adventures finally came to an end. When Eisenhower was re-elected and the decade moved steadily toward the 1960s, he sold many of his automobiles, including his prized Delahaye. According to the original New York bill of sale, it was purchased by Hempstead Auto Company of Long Island, owned by Hugh J. Weidinger, on November 6, 1963, and held for the next few months. Presumably, it was during this time that the color scheme was changed, to red with black accents. That was the dress in which a Connecticut car dealer met a car that, for 25 years, had haunted his dreams.

Greenwich, 1964

While Bob Grier was looking to buy a couple of French cars for his family at the 1939 World's Fair, Malcolm Sheldon Pray Jr. was also there, but he was only dreaming. Later in his life, he recalled the impression that the design of a Delahaye on display there had made on him, to the point that he sketched the lines for it. He never threw away the sketch and never forgot about the car.

On July 6, 1964, Malcolm arrived, as he often did, at the used car “dealer bazaar” below Highbridge on Jerome Avenue in the Bronx; the same place where he would buy his Ferrari 250 GT five years later. That day, two days after July 4, he found chassis number 48667 waiting for him, painted red with black accents. The memories within him stirred, and Malcolm, moved with emotion, simply thought that he must have it...and so he did.

From that moment on, until the death of Malcolm S. Pray Jr., half a century later, man and machine were never far apart.

Between 1969 and 1970, the car was completely refurbished by Don Leffert's Vintage Auto Restorations of Ridgefield, Connecticut, which included a Cream and Monaco Blue finish, the same colors it wears today. The receipts for this job and all subsequent jobs over the past 45 years are still preserved. However, after all this work, the Delahaye was not a show car, nor did Malcolm join the crowd of enthusiasts that Bob Grier once enjoyed. To him, it was a beloved toy, one he could exercise on weekends with the kids, but one that rarely left the garage on his property on Round Hill Road.

As a result, chassis number 48667 remained virtually unknown outside a small circle of locals until 1994. That year, Malcolm decided to give his car a long-awaited debut at the Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance, which was likely Delahaye's first appearance. in a show. since 1954! The automotive world was stunned and he began a new life for the 135, becoming a celebrity in his own right.

In 1995, Malcolm and his new wife, Natalie, toured Europe in the car she called her “French mistress,” as her control over her husband was very strong. They participated together in the Paris Concours d'Elegance and the Bordeaux to Paris Rally.

Mrs Pray remembers: “Driving through the French countryside on the rally, Malcolm smiled with pride as passers-by along the road waved and shouted: ‘Belle voiture!’. His relationship with the automobile was palpable. He had the utmost confidence that he would obey him, and he did. With no caravan queen, the Delahayes went to Palm Beach in the winter, where Malcolm ran along the ocean, up and down. This timeless beauty was the jewel of Malcolm's collection, which he showed at approximately 50 events. The Delahaye has many trophies, but none can measure the passion and joy that Malcolm felt for his 'French lover.'”

• 1937 Delahaye 135 Competition Court Torpedo Roadster by Figoni et Falaschi
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