DELAGE D6 -11 Grande Routiere as Bugatti, Delahaye, Hispano-Suiza, 1933 coach

 DELAGE  D6 - 11

1933

Sporty French Gran Tourer in Elegant Coupe Form   -   La Belle Voiture Française



I am downsizing my collection. in the next weeks I will list here some of my cars. I start with this beautiful example of French "Grande Routiere" from the Golden Era.

Rare 1933 Delage D6-11 Coach (or Coupé). This superb. sporting short chassis was bodied at the Delage works. with perfect elegant proportions. In my opinion better than other cars with intricate designs from other "carrossiers". The low roof and the reduced glass area. together with an imposing radiator and a well proportioned trunk. give the car the real archetypal presence of a 1930s luxury-but-sporty carriage.

"There is a select band of motor cars which have the indefinable power to charm the driver and passengers immediately they are taken on the road. The Delage as a make most certainly belongs to this comparatively small group . . . the 22hp six-cylinder . . . feels exactly right and the driver realizes at once that he is handling an altogether exceptional machine" (Autocar. 8th May 1931).

Introduced at the October 1930 Paris Salon. the Delage D6 was designed by Maurice Gaultier. Sharing the same bore and stroke dimensions (77mm x 109mm) as the marque's D8 flagship but employing six rather than eight cylinders. The D6's reception at the Paris was ectasic and D6s became very popular on the European concours circuit. It was. to quote the company mantra. “La Belle Voiture Française” - the beautiful French automobile.

This car was the subject of a total restoration by the most respected restorer in France. the legendary André LeCoq (he passed away few months ago. the remaining of his private collection is just sold at auction in Paris with an amazing success as most of his Bugatti. Horch. Mercedes. Delahaye surpassed the estimates. as best proof of the quality of his work. His quest for the perfection in the detail always brought him to achieve restorations made for lasting not just for a quick show-off: my Delage is a typical example of this way of operating. being restored years ago but still in superb condition.

This D6 Delage presents very well. The body contours are excellent and both doors shut well. The paint exhibits a deep shine. although there are a couple of minor blemishes. The roof has a fabric insert. which is in good condition. The Triplex safety glass are perfect. The tan soft fabric interior is superb. matching the tan carpet with a very attractive dashboard that has Jaeger instruments. All the woodworks are perfect. Outfitted with central lubrication. the car also has Marchal headlamps and
driving lamps.  André adjustable shock absorbers.

This car is a pleasure to drive. with all its mechanical parts perfectly working. Strong engine. easy gearbox and clutch. efficient brakes. It starts on the button. All electrics work.

The car is complete with a top quality. taylor-made. soft cover. I have an original sale brochure but not other literature.

I can send many photos of the car to the interested parties.

This wonderfully stylish example of French motoring excellence is offered with French Carte Grise document. It is located in Monte-Carlo. Principality of Monaco.

Don't hesitate to contact me for further information of for viewing the car.

I set a reasonable reserve price. I am pretty sure a fraction of what such a frame-off restoration would cost. The sale starts at 99 cents. bid as you feel (but please bid to buy. an eBay auction is not a game. a bid is a legal engagement to buy an item without negotiating after the sale). I prefer not to disclose the reserve price.

I can store the car in a securised garage for 4 weeks after the end of the sale. giving the new keeper time to organise collection and transport. I will also be happy to assist the buyer to arrange for it.


LOUIS  DELAGE (the manufacturer)
Louis Delage was handicapped by blindness in one eye. yet it was in his mind's eye where his genius took form. Born in 1874. Delage learned automotive engineering at Peugeot. which was perhaps the world's leading engine designer at the turn of the twentieth century. Leaving in 1905 to begin the construction of his own motor cars. Delage started with a series of voiturettes powered by one and two-cylinder deDion Bouton engines. which achieved their first competition success when one of the two entered in the 1906 Coupe des Voiturettes de L'Auto. finished second overall. In turn. the publicity earned by finishing this exhausting trial made Delage the highlight of the Paris Salon held only a month later. With order books filled and dealers clamoring for product. Louis Delage enjoyed both commercial success and personal notoriety that. by all accounts. he enjoyed nearly as much as the company of beautiful women.

The company expanded rapidly. soon adding four-cylinder engines made by Ballot and others to the expanding model line. carrying the more elaborate and heavier coachwork increasingly favored by an ever more sophisticated and experienced clientele. In 1913. the first inline six-cylinder Delage was introduced. a 2. 5-liter unit with 27 brake horsepower designed by Arthur-Léon Michelat. who had joined Delage in 1909 from the Belgian Hermes firm. Louis Delage's autocratic rule discouraged many engineers. he first of whom was Michelat. who left in the middle of World War I. The allure of Delage. however. encouraged some of these designers to return. including Michelat and Maurice Gaultier. who began with Delage in 1910.

While Delage certainly enjoyed the lifestyle that business success afforded him. he was also fiercely loyal to France. and set about to bring honor to his country on the emerging racetracks of the day. By 1913. Delage had won the highest honor in French motorsport – the Grand Prix de France. The next year. his sophisticated racing cars featured both double overhead camshafts and four-wheel brakes – innovations that were far ahead of the competition.

By the mid-1920s. Delage racing engines were advanced. inline eight-cylinder units of 1. 5-liters capacity. and it was with these engines that Delage achieved its greatest triumph. In 1927. with the very talented driver Robert Benoist behind the wheel. Delage won not only the Grand Prix de France. but also the Spanish Grand Prix. the Grand Prix de l'Europe at Monza. and the British Grand Prix at Brooklands. Having triumphantly swept the entire 1927 racing season. Delage had convincingly manifested his dream of carrying the French flag to the highest levels of organized motor sport. Satisfied. Delage announced his retirement from racing. and concentrated his attention to the production of his highly regarded road cars.

By 1935. however. the terrible effects of the lingering Great Depression had taken their toll on the majestic French marque. and Automobiles Delage entered voluntary liquidation in April of 1935. Paris-based Delage agent Walter Watney. who also planned to return the Delage marque to motor racing. purchased the company's assets. However. Watney quickly discovered that saving the venerable company was beyond his own means. Consequently. Watney set about looking for an automotive partner – one with the financial strength to support the enormous costs of design. engineering. development. and manufacturing. Watney found salvation in Delahaye. and an agreement was made whereby the Delage name would survive. but the savings resulting from the use of Delahaye components would reduce costs.


ANDRE' LECOQ  (the restorer)
The name « Carrosserie Lecoq » is known around the world for the quality of its restorations. It has become a benchmark for owners of exceptional collectors' cars.

Born in 1929 and from a modest Breton background. André Lecoq began work at the age of 14. as an apprentice in the Simca factory first in Nanterre. and then Poissy. where he corrected faults in the metal panels on the production line. When his father gave up working as a wheelwright in 1960. André took on his tiny works- hop on the rue Blanqui in Saint-Ouen. With the help and competence of Claude Chevalier (panel beater). the workshop became a well-equipped garage set up to repair bodywork.

This was also the period when fibreglass bodies began to appear. The Carrosserie Lecoq embarked on this new area of repair with Alpine. The workshop was too small and the polyester resin had to dry in the street. but the work carried out was of high quality and success followed. The cramped conditions necessitated a change and a large workshop on the ground floor was acquired on rue Charles Schmidt in Saint- Ouen. at the end of the 1960s. Matra then entrusted him with all their fibreglass repairs. granting himthe famous badge. depicting the stylised head of a cockerel. which the Carrosserie Lecoq keeps today. Subsequently. Lotus also became a regular customer of the workshop. Then one day at the start of 1970. something happened that changed the course of the business : Adrien Maeght. returning from a visit to the flea market in St-Ouen. passed in front of the Carrosserie Lecoq and noticed. near the entrance. a Volkswagen Schwimmwagen in poor condition. He asked to buy it. which he did. and then asked to have it restored. He was so pleased with the work carried out  that he entrusted the workshop with the restoration of a Hispano-Suiza. followed by other cars in his collection.

The passion for automobiles was contagious and André Lecoq acquired. for the beauty of its design. a dilapidated Horch 853 A cabriolet. The carunderwent a restoration of the highest quality in his workshop. so that he could participate in various classic car rallies. The standard of restoration was so much higher than what was done elsewhere in those days that numerous collectors gave their cars to him to restore at the Carrosserie Lecoq. (it was also an assurance of recognition in a Concours d'Elégance). Due to this success. the workshop had to face facts : it was necessary to expand. A first floor was built. and then a basement was dug out.
Close to fifty people worked together in the workshop. with new departments for wheels and upholstery. André Lecoq's Horch became the mobile « display » of Carrosserie Lecoq's expertise during its prestigious career.

André Lecoq was also a great collector. As he loved to say. his collection evolved and expressed his personal favourites. with aesthetics often acting as the common denominator. Cars such as the Cadillac V16. Mercedes SS. 500 and 540 K entered his collection. However. as he got older. his favourites were the cars that were less « physical » to drive. such as the BMW 327/328. the Fiat Coppa d'Oro or the SS One. He also loved lots of the small « popular » cars. such as the Austin Seven and the Vespa 400. which he drove on his honeymoon.     
(Christian Huet expert conseil International en Automobiles de collection)

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