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43-516: Engineer Émile Delahaye began experimenting with belt-driven cars in 1894, while he was manager of the Brethon Foundry and Machine-works in Tours, France. These experiments encouraged him to acquire the foundry and machine-works, so that Monsieur Brethon could retire. Emile soon entered his automobiles in the 1896 Paris–Marseille–Paris race, and the 1897 Paris–Dieppe race, followed in 1898 by

86-442: A live rear axle , and cable operated Bendix brakes. Transmission was either a four-speed manual or a four-speed Cotal pre-selector . A total of 340 134N were built, of which about 100 examples post-war (these are almost entirely identical to 1939 models), mainly for the domestic market. Twenty or so of the 2.4-liter 14 CV 134G models were built in 1945–1946, only for export. However, with steel supplies savagely rationed under

129-645: A 200,000 French francs government prize. Dreyfus also scored a victory in the Ecurie Bleu Type 145 at Pau in 1938, using the model's fuel economy to beat the more powerful Mercedes-Benz W154 . Another Type 145 finished third in the same race. These victories combined with French patriotism ensured demand for Delahaye cars up until the German occupation of France during World War II . In early 1940, 100 Type 134N and Type 168 chassis were built and bodied by Renault as military cars under contract for

172-474: A new, higher quality, and considerably sportier automotive-chassis line, with an appealingly distinctive appearance, improved horsepower, better handling, and a higher price-point. Delahaye was repositioned to appeal to a wealthier, younger, more sporting oriented customer base. Varlet was instructed to establish both the new drawing office, and the racing department, neither of which Delahaye ever had before. Weiffenbach hired Jean François, as Varlet's assistant, and

215-426: A remarkable piece of symmetry Merkel again won the stage between Avignon and Lyon, a move that started Panhard et Levassor's dominant performance as Emile Mayade dominated the final three stages back to Paris and overall victory. Panhard et Levassor had won seven of the ten stages. The winning 8 hp Panhard et Levassor of Mayade had been extensively upgraded for 1896, using their first four-cylinder engine, doubling

258-512: A takeover of Delahaye by Hotchkiss, after which Hotchkiss promptly shut down Delahaye car production. By the end of 1954, after a brief period selling trucks with the Hotchkiss-Delahaye nameplate, the combined firm was itself taken over by Brandt . By 1956, the brands Delahaye, Delage, and Hotchkiss were no longer in use. From its incorporation, Delahaye remained a private, entirely family-owned company, until it closed its doors for

301-404: Is a four-cylinder luxury automobile manufactured by Delahaye . Based on Jean François' Delahaye 135 , it was produced from 1933 to 1940 (from 1936 as the 134N ) and was briefly brought back by Delahaye manager Charles Weiffenbach in 1945 after hostilities ended. At the same time, the larger engined 134G also appeared. As a part of the " Plan Pons " aimed at reviving French industry, Delahaye

344-572: The 134N , a 12 cv car with a 2.15-litre four-cylinder engine, and the 18cv Type 138 , powered by a 3.2-litre six-cylinder engine – both developed from their successful truck engines. In 1935, success in the Alpine Trial led to the introduction of the sporting Type 135 "Coupe des Alpes". By the end of 1935, Delahaye had won eighteen minor French sports car events and a number of hill-climbs , and came fifth at Le Mans . In 1936, Delahaye ran four 160 hp (120 kW; 160 PS) cars (based on

387-546: The 1894 Paris–Rouen where the Count Jules-Albert de Dion was first into Rouen but steam-powered vehicles were ineligible for the main prize. Likewise, in 1895 the nascent Automobile Club de France) (ACF) organised its first event, the Paris–Bordeaux–Paris race, but excluded two-seater cars such that their official winner, a four-seater, finished 11 hours after Émile Levassor . The outcry resulting from

430-754: The Monte Carlo Rally driving a Delahaye. Delahaye also ran first and second at Le Mans . Against the German government-sponsored juggernauts Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union , Delahaye entered the Type 145 , powered by a complicated 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 -litre V12 . Called the "Million Franc Delahaye" after a victory in the Million Franc Race , the initial Type 145 was driven by René Dreyfus to an average speed 91.07 mph (146.56 km/h) over 200 km (120 mi) at Montlhéry in 1937, earning

473-578: The V6 engine in the 1911 Type 44 . Varlet also designed the Delahaye Titan marine engine, an enormous cast-iron multi-valve twin-cam four-cylinder engine that was fitted into purpose-built speedboat La Dubonnet , which briefly held the world speed record on water . German manufacturer Protos began licensed production of Delahaye models in 1907, while in 1909, H. M. Hobson began importing Delahaye vehicles to Britain. US manufacturer White pirated

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516-447: The 134 and 134N was a four-cylinder version of the 3.2-litre, four-bearing overhead valve inline-six from the 135, itself based on a lorry engine. Power was 50 hp (37 kW) at 3800 rpm. This engine was also sold to Amilcar , who installed it in their Pégase car from 1934 until 1937. Amilcar, however, claimed a max power of 58 hp (43 kW). Like the 135, the 134s featured independent, leaf-sprung front suspension,

559-414: The 150.95 km over unsurfaced roads in 6 hours 51 minutes, thus taking the overall lead. Levassor increased his lead by also winning the third stage into Lyon, but his race was ruined when he suffered an accident on the fourth stage into Avignon. Although he persevered until the end of the stage, he then handed over the driving to his riding mechanic Charles d'Hostingue and they continued steadily until

602-1002: The 1895 result lead the A.C.F. to organise the Paris–Marseille–Paris Trail as the first fully competitive motor race starting in Paris, where the first car across the line was the winner. On 8 February 1896 the race was announced in La France Automobile , the second edition of the A.C.F.'s official magazine. The entry list included : seven De Dion-Boutons (5 gasoline-powered tricycles and 2 steam-powered cars); five Bollées (comprising four Léon Bollée tricycles and tandems plus an Amédée Bollée ); four Panhard et Levassors ; three Peugeots ; two Delahayes ; two Société Parisiennes and two Triouleyres . There were also single car entries from Fisson ; Landry et Beyroux (or poss. Landoy); Lebrun ; Rochet-Schneider ; Rossel and Tissandier . On 20 September,

645-572: The Delahaye design; the First World War interrupted efforts to recover damages. By the end of the war, Delahaye's major income was from manufacturing trucks. Following the war, Delahaye attempted, in 1927, to increase profits by adopting a modest form of assembly-line production, in a tripartite agreement with FAR Tractor Company and Chenard & Walcker automakers, and Rosengart, an entry-level manufacturer of small family cars. However,

688-615: The French army. The French government had ordered all private automobile production to cease in June 1939, but small numbers of cars continued to be built for the occupying German forces until at least 1942. In 1951, a French military team with Captain Monnier and Colonel Henri Debrus were part of the victorious crew that won the first Algiers-Cape Town Rally with a Delahaye pick-up. After World War II , French luxury car makers struggled under

731-664: The Marseilles–Nice rally, the Course de Périgeux, and the Paris–Amsterdam–Paris race. Delahaye's automotive company was incorporated in 1898 with investors George Morane – who had driven one of Delahaye's cars in the Marseilles–Nice rally – and Morane's brother-in-law Leon Desmarais. The company moved its manufacturing from Tours to Paris, to a former hydraulic machinery plant owned by the Morane family. Charles Weiffenbach

774-693: The Type 135) in the Ulster TT, placing second to Bugatti , and entered four at the Belgian 24 Hours, finishing 2-3-4-5 behind an Alfa Romeo . Delahaye was able to leverage their racing success to acquire automaker Delage in 1935. American heiress Lucy O'Reilly Schell paid the developmental costs for short "Competition Court" 2.70-metre-wheelbase Type 135 cars for rallying and racing. She purchased 12 of these, reserving half for her Ecurie Bleue amateur racing team. In 1937, René Le Bègue and Julio Quinlin won

817-558: The Type 135, fitted with hydraulic instead of mechanical brakes, and a triple Solex carbureted version of the 3.6-litre Type 135 engine, which produced 152 hp (113 kW; 154 PS). This power was roughly equal to that of the previous series. Only 84 examples of the Type 235 were built. Delahaye's competitor, Hotchkiss , negotiated a licensing agreement with Kaiser-Willys Motors , and obtained sanction to manufacture its Willys MB 'Jeep' in France. The French army began to appreciate

860-414: The company for their entire working career. Weiffenbach became the operations manager in 1906, while Varlet focused on technical engineering and manufacturing advances. In 1932, 42-year-old Jean François was hired as chief design-engineer. Amadee Varlet was over eighty by then, and past his creative prime, but his earned respect caused him to be promoted to head up the new drawing office, and set up and manage

903-431: The company kept no records of these events. The affair could not be effectively contained and resulted in disinterest among prospective buyers. The Type 175, 178 and 180 models were unable to generate enough sales to recover development and production costs. Their production was discontinued in mid-1951. Until early 1951, continuing demand from the French army for the company's light reconnaissance vehicles (VLR) enabled

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946-489: The company to operate. Small but steady demand for the Type 163  [ de ] trucks allowed the business to remain solvent. A one-ton capacity light truck (later sharing its 3.5-litre six-cylinder overhead-valve engine with the company's Type 235 luxury cars) made its debut at the 1949 Paris Motor Show as the Type 171 . During the next twelve months the Type 171 spawned several brake-bodied versions, including ambulance and 9-seater "familiale" variants. The vehicle

989-583: The company when Émile Delahaye retired in 1901; Weiffenbach took over from them in 1906. The company ceased its participation in racing after Delahaye's death in 1905. Weiffenbach had no interest in racing, and focused on production of practical motorized automotive chassis, heavy commercial vehicles , and early firetrucks for the French government. By 1904, about 850 automobiles had been built. The company introduced its first production four-cylinder in 1903 and shaft-drive transmissions in 1907. Delahaye's chief design-engineer Amédée Varlet invented and pioneered

1032-510: The company's designer and chief engineer. Delahaye had escaped near disaster, to arise with virtually immediate success, in the new Type 134, followed almost immediately by the International speed record setting Type 138, and then the model that made Delahaye deservedly famous: the Type 135. In 1934, Delahaye set eighteen class records at Montlhéry, in a specially-prepared, stripped and streamlined 18 Sport. The company also introduced

1075-611: The depressed economy. General Pons's five-year reconstruction program (the Pons Plan) allocated the majority of its vehicles for export, and installed an increasingly punitive tax regime aimed at luxurious non-essential products, including cars with engines larger than two litres (120 cu in). In 1947, 88% of Delahaye production was exported, primarily to French colonies in Asia and Africa. Delahaye's meagre production of 573 cars in 1948 (compared to 34,164 by market-leader Citroën ),

1118-417: The finishing fourth overall in Paris. Levassor would never fully recover from the accident and the stress of driving another 36 hours, and died early in 1897. The stage was won by Merkel driving another one of Émile Levassor's cars. The fifth stage into the halfway point at Marseille was won by Viet riding on a gasoline-powered De Dion tricycle, and he also won the next stage leaving Marseille back to Avignon. In

1161-548: The horsepower from the 1895 model. It was equipped with tiller steering and candle lamps. The brakes were a spoon-lever pressing on the solid rubber back tyre plus a belt that tightened onto a drum on the transmission. Paris-Marseilles-Paris Trail - 24 September - 3 October 1896 – 1710 km The overall results were: The stage-winners were: Entrants who did not finish : Italian Misplaced Pages accredited sources: it:Storia dell'automobilismo (1896)#La Paris-Marseille-Paris Delahaye 134 The Delahaye 134

1204-414: The last time, on December 31, 1954. Emile Delahaye, a successful Tours foundry and machine-works owner, built his first car in 1894. By 1898, the demand required that he expand facilities and obtain investment capital. Emile Delahaye agreed to partner equally with coppersmith business owners and brothers-in-law, Leon Desmarais and George Morane. The arrangement was duly incorporated in 1898, and car assembly

1247-484: The new racing department, assisted by much younger engineer Jean François. Pierre Peigney, a family relative, was the president, but his was more a formal role, since it was Charles Weiffenbach who had been mandated by the partners to run the company, literally single-handedly. This he did, including after orchestrating the merger in 1954 with Hotchkiss, a prime competitor. President Peigney signed for Delahaye, and president Richard signed for Hotchkiss. Neither company had

1290-521: The range of vehicles undertaken to produce was excessively extensive, too diverse, and totally devoid of practical standardization. The collaboration did not last long as shrinking sales volume threatened the company's survival. By 1931, the triumverate had disintegrated. It has been alleged that Weiffenbach met with his friend and competitor Ettore Bugatti , to seek his opinion on turning Delahaye around. In 1932, Desmarais's widow and majority shareholder, Madame Leon Desmarais, instructed Weiffenbach to develop

1333-460: The simpler machine, available at a much lower price, and cancelled the contract for the more sophisticated Delahaye VLR. In August 1953, the company laid off more than 200 employees. A merger was discussed with Hotchkiss, which was facing similar problems. On 19 March 1954, an agreement was signed by Delahaye president Pierre Peigney and Hotchkiss president Paul Richard . Less than three months later, on 9 June, Delahaye shareholders accepted

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1376-455: The strength and resources to avoid being absorbed by the gigantic Brandt group of companies. Delahaye vanished into extinction in late 1954. 1896 Paris%E2%80%93Marseille%E2%80%93Paris The Paris–Marseille–Paris race was the first competitive 'city to city' motor race originating in Paris, where the first car across the line was the winner, prior events having selected the winner by various forms of classification and judging. The race

1419-400: The traditional American-built Jeep of the period. During 1953, the company built 1,847 VLRs, as well as 537 "special" military vehicles. In that year no more than 36 Delahaye or Delage-branded passenger cars were registered. In 1953, the Type 235 was introduced. Fernand Lecour, working with a small group of enthusiastic factory employees, convinced Weiffenbach to introduce an updated version of

1462-830: The weekend prior to the start of the race, a selection trial ( prologue ) was run from Paris-Mantes-Paris for bicycles and tricycles of less than 150 kilograms. The eight successful machines were classified as either engine powered or engine and pedal powered. The two self-powered machines were the single seat, petrol-powered ' Wolfmüller ' motorcycle (No 31) ridden by D'Ofraiville; and the Hurtu-Léon Bollée tricycle No. 50 of C. Chauveau. The pedal machines (mopeds) were all De Dion-Bouton tricycles ridden by Chevalier (No. 52); Delieuvin (No. 15); Clere (No. 51); Fernand Charron (No. 13); and Comte Laubat Gaston De Chasseloup (No. 14). The race covered 1,710 km from Paris to Marseilles and return from 24 September-3 October 1896. The race

1505-456: Was composed of the shareholders, plus their appointed manager of operations, Charles Weiffenbach, as chief executive officer. Emile Delahaye had been the company's president, its sole engineer, and the administrator, until his retirement in 1901. In 1898, Delahaye hired Charles Weiffenbach as his managerial assistant; and, Amédée Varlet as the design-engineer. Both men were qualified mechanical engineers, with differing talents, and both stayed with

1548-400: Was delayed until 1948 due to the war, post-war shortages, and the death of its designer. With a license agreement in place and no viable alternatives, Delahaye proceeded with production of the Type 175. However, suspension components underwent catastrophic failure, and Delahaye was obliged to buy back a number of its vehicles to avoid litigation. The risk of negative publicity was so great that

1591-416: Was intended for use in France's African colonies, having large wheels and high ground clearance, and was also exported to Brazil. By 1952, thirty Type 171s were produced per month. Delahaye's last entirely new model, a 2-litre Jeep-like vehicle known as Delahaye VLR (Véhicule Léger de Reconnaissance Delahaye) was released in 1951. The French army believed that this vehicle offered a number of advantages over

1634-487: Was made operations manager. The company initially produced three models at this location: the 1.4 litre single-cylinder Type 0, and the twin-cylinder Type 1  [ fr ] and Type 2. All three had bicycle-style tiller steering, rear-mounted water-cooled engines, automatic valves, surface carburetors , and trembler coil ignition ; drive was a combination of belt and chain, with three forward speeds and one reverse. Desmarais and Morane took control of

1677-483: Was moved to the vacant Paris factory owned by the incoming partners. When Delahaye retired in 1901, from failing health, he sold his shares to his partners, with Desmarais purchasing more, thus gaining a majority. As the Desmarais and Morane families were connected by marriage, Delahaye was a family-owned business, from 1901 until its takeover by Hotchkiss in 1954. Delahaye was the minority partner. The board of directors

1720-570: Was scheduled to be run over 10 daily stages without rest days. The 32 entrants started the first stage from under the Place de l'Étoile in Paris and raced 177 km to Auxerre where the winner was Lejane who had driven his Bollée at over 31 km/hour. Unfortunately his glory was short lived as he retired the following day. The first of the Panhard et Levassors came to the fore on the second stage from Auxere to Dijon, when Émile Levassor covered

1763-426: Was to focus on building luxury cars, in particular for the export markets. The lesser 134 did not suit the plan and was taken out of production by 1946, in preference to the more lucrative 135, 148, and 175 models. Most 134s built carried saloon bodywork by Autobineau, a subsidiary of Letourneur et Marchand . The 2.15-liter engine (bore and stroke of 80 mm × 107 mm (3.1 in × 4.2 in)) of

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1806-407: Was unsustainably low. The new face of the postwar Delahaye was styled in-house by industrial designer Philippe Charbonneaux . Production of the outdated pre-war Type 135 and 148L was resumed in 1946, to restart cash flow and because the Type 175 and its two longer-wheelbased versions were not ready for introduction. The Type 175 was very modern when it had been envisioned in 1938 but its production

1849-605: Was won by Émile Mayade who completed the ten-day, 1,710 km, event over unsurfaced roads in 67 hours driving a Panhard et Levassor . The event was organised by the Automobile Club de France (ACF) and was sometimes retrospectively known as the II Grand Prix de l'A.C.F. . It was run in 10 stages from Paris via Auxerre; Dijon; Lyon; Avignon; Marseille; Avignon; Lyon; Dijon; Sens and return to Paris. The first competitive 'city to city' motoring event had been

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