OurStory
Delage boasts many titles and records, including a double Driver and Constructor title in the World Grand Prix Championship (before the "Formula 1" designation).
Delage also won more Concours d'Elegance during the first half of the 20th century than any other brand in the world.
1905
Founded in 1905 by Louis Delage, the company began production with a single-cylinder De Dion engine voiturette. A few years later, it was offering multi-cylinder designs. Then came the move upmarket to become one of the most prestigious brands in automotive history.
World Champion
The advertising value of racing was immediately identified by Louis Delage, winning the Coupe des Voiturettes as early as 1908. Then came victories at Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500, won even before World War I, followed in 1927 by the World Grand Prix Championship title.
World speed records
Delage became a major force among high-performance automotive brands, setting several world speed records in the 1920s and 1930s.
D8-120 Roadster by DE VILLARS (1937)
In the 1920s, four-cylinder and six-cylinder touring cars were the mainstay of Delage production. Then, at the 1929 Paris Motor Show, Delage launched the magnificent four-litre D8, a model destined to attract the creative attention of Europe's finest coachbuilders: De Villars, Pourtout, Chapron, Letourneur & Marchand, Figoni & Falaschi, Fernandes & Darrin, to name only the most famous.
D6-70 Cabriolet by LETOURNEUR & MARCHAND (1938)
Introduced in 1937, the D6-70 was powered by the potent 2,729cc overhead-valve straight-six, driven through an electrically operated four-speed gearbox. Both fast and reliable, the D6-70 proved competitive enough to win the Tourist Trophy at Donington Park in 1938 and claim two second-place finishes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
"The chic car" or "the beautiful French car"
Whether it was the records and titles in racing that earned it international fame, or the many victories in Concours d'Elegance that earned it the designations "The chic car" or "The beautiful French car", Delage fascinated automobile enthusiasts for nearly half a century, until its last car was produced in 1953.
A major footprint in automotive history
Collections
The finest surviving Delage cars are regularly sold to collectors worldwide (sometimes for several millions), and fans of the brand are still numerous enough, 7 decades after the last car was produced, to be organised into clubs across several countries…
Our complete history
Many books have been written about Delage. We particularly recommend the one by Daniel Cabart and Claude Rouxel, very comprehensive: "Delage: La Belle Voiture Française".