Talbot-Lago

T150

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RM Sothebys

To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION at RM Sothebys' The Monterey Auction event, 13 - 15 August 2026. rn$7,000,000 - $8,000,000 USD rnrnOne of just 11 original &quot;New York&quot;-style Teardrop coupes built by Talbot-LagornThe sole example of the legendary design known to have been commissioned for competitionrnCompeted in the 1939 24 Hours of Le Mans, driven by Philippe Regnier de Massa and Norbert-Jean MahernFormerly owned by renowned collector Oscar Davis; accompanied by a fascinating history filernThe undisputed masterpiece of the &quot;French Curve&quot;rn rnrnHaving assumed control of Automobiles Talbot S.A. in 1933 and subsequently purchased the historic name from the receivers in 1936, ambitious Anglo-Italian engineer Anthony Lago set about revitalizing the beleaguered company with a range of new cars designed by Walter Becchia. Becchia was tasked with developing a competition version of the company's 3-liter six-cylinder T150 engine, as Lago had identified motorsport as an area critical to the company's future success. A comprehensive redesign saw the newly enlarged 4-liter engine modified with hemispherical combustion chambers and three Zenith-Stomberg carburetors; its generous 104.5-millimeter stroke afforded copious torque at modest revs, rendering it ideally suited to competitive use.rnrnHowever, Lago understood that future racing success would require far more than mere horsepower. To this end, he instructed Becchia, in conjunction with fellow Fiat alumnus Vincenzo Bertarione, to construct a commensurate chassis. The new T150-C frame-the &quot;C&quot; denoting Corse-was of a conventional ladder type, with box section side spars joined by tubular cross-members. The short-chassis Super Sports or SS variant boasted a wheelbase of 104 inches and featured independent front suspension via a combination of top links and a transversely mounted leaf spring, while at the rear an underslung live axle was employed. Further modifications specific to the T150-C SS included a large-capacity oil pan, and the fitment of a Wilson pre-selector gearbox ensured quick and dependable gear changes.rnrnFour T150-C SS roadsters were constructed for the 1936 season, although it was not until the following year that they achieved the results they deserved: A magnificent 1-2-3-5 in the sports car-only French Grand Prix and a commanding win in the RAC Tourist Trophy at Donington Park were notable highlights.rnrnENTER FIGONI ET FALASCHIrnrnLago had, by this time, been introduced to celebrated coachbuilder Giuseppe Figoni by Luigi Chinetti-yes, that Luigi Chinetti-a mutual friend and then Talbot-Lago's Parisian agent. Italian by birth, Figoni had emigrated to Paris as a young boy, subsequently establishing his fabled coachworks in nearby Boulogne-sur-Seine. It was there that he built up a strong bond with Chinetti; the latter employed him to modify the bodywork of the long-chassis Alfa Romeo 8C 2300s with which he would emerge victorious at Le Mans in 1932 and 1934.rnrnMindful of the seemingly limitless styling opportunities offered by the distinctly en vogue Art Deco movement, Lago discussed with Figoni the possibility of fitting a number of his chassis with suitably extravagant coupe bodies constructed by the now re-named Figoni et Falaschi coachworks. Such was Figoni's enthusiasm for the idea that no less than 16 such coupes were constructed over the next two years. Upon its unveiling at the 1937 Paris Motor Show, the new coupe was dubbed Goutte d'Eau-literally &quot;water drop&quot;-although this term was quickly anglicized into the more appropriate &quot;teardrop,&quot; which endures to this day.rnrnThe initial batch of five cars, retrospectively termed &quot;Jeancart&quot; coupes in deference to the purchaser of the first such example, was constructed using a combination of T150-C and T23 chassis. Featuring trademark Figoni touches such as steeply raked windscreens, sumptuously sculpted fenders, and oval window apertures, each was impossibly beautiful yet subtly different to the next. As the Jeancart coupes all exhibited an elegant notch-backed side profile, the second-series cars were arguably even more pure in aesthetic terms, exhibiting as they did a simpler &quot;fastback&quot; tail section. Launched at the 1937 New York Auto Show, the second-series examples assumed the unofficial title of &quot;New York&quot; cars, and 11 were constructed in this style: 10 on 104-inch T150-C SS frames, and one on the longer 116-inch T23 chassis. Each was powered by a 140-horsepower version of the dependable T150-C engine.rnrnCHASSIS NUMBER 90117: THE COMPETITION TEARDROPrnrnChassis number 90117 is believed to have been the penultimate &quot;New York&quot; design built and was the only Goutte d'Eau coupe to be constructed expressly with competition in mind. It was commissioned by Philippe Regnier de Massa, a member of one of France's oldest and most decorated noble families, with several competition-inspired modifications. Per Figoni's son, Claude, the car was two inches lower and four inches longer than other Teardrop coupes, in an attempt to minimize both frontal area and drag, and featured additional driving lights, an opening rear window and a unique heart-shaped sunroof to aid ventilation, and a sort of proto-bucket seat on the driver's side, facing a 250-km/h speedometer. The specifications were not merely skin-deep; beneath, the engine bay was fitted with additional reinforcement tubes and brackets, and the engine itself was fed by a long-range fuel tank supplied through an external filler cap. rnrnDe Massa appears to have taken note of the 3rd place achieved at Le Mans in 1938 by Prenant and Morel's Pourtout-bodied Talbot-Lago and entered his own car into the 1939 edition-remarkably, both car and driver's first race of international standard! The Talbot-Lago was officially entered in the name of British racing luminary and writer T.A.S.O. Mathieson-himself sharing a new T26 model with Chinetti in the race. De Massa co-drove with Norbert-Jean Mahe, who had finished 9th in the 1934 event. The pair was running strongly in 9th place when they were eliminated on the 88th lap, a retirement variously attributed to a broken valve spring or the car skidding on oil and actually traveling some distance in the wrong direction!rnrnAside from a brief appearance in an unnamed post-Le Mans concours, no other outings are recorded for the car during de Massa's ownership, for good reason: World War II broke out scarcely 10 weeks after the 24-hour race had concluded. The Talbot-Lago found itself in Germany by 1942, and was acquired there in a neglected state, less its engine, by Herr A. Becker of Rangsdorf, near Berlin. Unfortunately the car found itself on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain and thus remained largely inaccessible and, in fact, forgotten by most Western collectors. One who had not forgotten was the Dutch dealer Jan Bruijn, who knew of the car and would occasionally meet Becker to discuss an eventual acquisition, in a rather Le Carre-esque cloak-and-dagger fashion involving roadside meetings in a smoky Trabant.rnrnWhen the Wall fell in late 1989, the Talbot-Lago was sold to German enthusiast Peter Schmitz. Bruijn caught up and acquired the car in 1995. Photographs show the car in somewhat worn condition but nonetheless largely cosmetically intact.rnrnBruijn sold chassis number 90117 the following year to Georg Lingenbrink of San Diego, California, who succeeded in completing the restoration over a six-year period. With the original chassis number tag apparently missing, the car was properly identified as 90117 by extensive research and correspondence with marque authorities, allowing for a complete list of that car's unique features to be compiled and matched to the design of the German &quot;find.&quot; Equipped with a correct replacement engine, sourced from England, the car was finished in an appropriately elegant livery of deep aubergine over tan pigskin leather upholstery with matching cloth door cards and headliner. At completion, it debuted at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, in its first public showing since it went into hiding during the early 1940s.rnrnIn 2006, chassis number 90117 was acquired by the renowned enthusiast and collector, Oscar Davis. In Mr. Davis's ownership, respected restorers Classic and Sport Auto Refinishing of Edinburg, Virginia, assessed the car exhaustively and performed some $100,000 in additional mechanical and cosmetic restoration during 2006 and 2007. Afterward the car was again displayed at Pebble Beach. It went on to receive the juried Trofeo BMW Group - Best of Show and the publicly selected Trofeo BMW Group Italia award at Villa d'Este in 2010, followed by the Louis Vuitton Concours Classic Award, intended to recognize &quot;the best of the best&quot; of the world's concours winners, in 2011.rnrnThe present caretaker acquired the car from the Davis collection in 2022, and has continued to preserve its restoration, including recent service work by RM Auto Restoration. With its competition-oriented specification, Le Mans history, and numerous bespoke details, it can be considered a truly unique example of a design that has been called iconic, legendary, immortal, groundbreaking, and a masterpiece-all cliches in the automotive world that are, for once, every one apt and true.To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM Sotheby's website.

Other

To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION at RM Sothebys' The Monterey Auction event, 13 - 15 August 2026. rn$1,500,000 - $2,500,000 USD rnrnThe first and sole survivor of two built on short-wheelbase competition chassisrnThe only surviving T150-C prototype of the T150 C-SS modelrnDisplayed by Madame Jeanne Falaschi at the 1937 Concours d'Elegance de l'Auto in ParisrnWell-preserved, meticulous restoration by RM Auto RestorationrnPast winner of First in Class at the Pebble Beach Concours d'ElegancernPart of The Jim Patterson Collection for a quarter-centuryrnSelectively shown in recent years and ripe for further concours exhibitionrn rnrnThe first built and sole survivor of two prototype roadsters of the roadgoing T150-C SS built upon T150-C competition chassis, chassis number 82928 was delivered by Talbot-Lago as a Talbot chassis &quot;course,&quot; making clear it was a full-bore racing chassis and supported by the car's equipment: a large-capacity oil pan, punched handbrake lever, dual braking system, high-compression engine, and drilled pedals, all as on the factory racing cars. It is believed that the chassis had in fact been constructed for the 1936 running of Le Mans, which was cancelled due to political upheavals in France, making its availability possible for its new purpose.rnrnJoseph Figoni's spectacular design used the Talbot-Lago racing chassis' existing radiator assembly sheet-metal, horizontal radiator cross-member, leather hood straps, and aerodynamic chassis apron, while the competition cycle-style fenders were modified with an apron concealing the front suspension, a wide decorative chrome band was added around the grille, and pontoon-style fenders were mounted and decorated with bold chrome scallops, an accent to the bright plating of the external exhaust manifold. While ostensibly a roadgoing car, its body was essentially a racecar in the vaguest streetworthy skin, and, unusually for a body of its era, used very little wood in its construction, contributing to its ultimate lightness. The result was almost certainly one of the best-performing examples of the T150-C ever produced.rnrnThe roadster was completed in time for the summer 1937 concours d'elegance season. At the Concours d'Elegance de l'Auto in Paris that June, it was presented by Madame Jeanne Falaschi, wife of Ovidio, and won its class, a predecessor of things seven decades to come. Their son Claude, then only 9 years old, was photographed in the car for advertisements for Dunlopillo seat cushions, as used in its interior.rnrnOriginal owner Boris Aslan-Finaly was the stepson of the managing director of the Banque de Paris. He had been a combat aviator during the Great War, eventually worked alongside his stepfather in the banking business, then became an executive of the Compagnie Francaise des Petroles. Along the way he married Velma Ziegler, a Pennsylvania beauty queen and Broadway starlet; against the odds and likely many expectations, the marriage held, and the couple were active socialites on the Cote d'Azur and in Paris until his death in 1973.rnrnAslan-Finaly was thrilled with his new acquisition. He wrote Figoni, &quot;I find that the body you put on my Talbot is a real work of art. Your work will have no problems from admirers and car aficionados and I hope that this style of body will bring you success in the future.&quot; Correspondence from Aslan-Finaly to Figoni further noted that racing driver and future Ferrari impresario &quot;[Luigi] Chinetti will pick it up one of these days to try it at Montlhery; I told him to go by the Talbot factory, I am certain that they would be happy to see a car so well done and proportioned.&quot;rnrnFurther history of the car is unknown until, according to the Vaucourt report, it reappeared in the ownership of Anton Biel of Komarno in the Slovak Republic, who sold it to Roland Kedro of Bratislava in November 1967. Two months later the car was sold through a friend of Kedro's to Swedish collector Allan Soderstrom. Photographs included in the file show the car on display in the Soderstrom museum, with the central part of the body instantly recognizable although some modifications had been made over the years.rnrnIn 1996 the car was acquired from the Soderstrom collection by a restorer in Connecticut, who, under the impression that the car was actually the second of the two roadsters built, began reskinning the rear of the body to a somewhat different design. With work only partially completed, the Talbot-Lago was acquired in 1998 by noted enthusiast Tom Price, then in 2001 by Jim Patterson, becoming an early major acquisition for what he eventually curated into one of the finest collections of French coachwork in the world.rnrnRM Auto Restoration took on the challenge of completing the restoration-which, essentially, meant starting anew, as research eventually indicated that the car had in fact been the first roadster produced, for Aslan-Finaly. Accordingly, the body was at last fully restored back to its original lines, as displayed in period photographs that had fortuitously survived. The intricate grille and rear fender skirts were both recreated, the tail reshaped to its original form using the original deck lid, the original fenders (fortunately retained &quot;loose&quot;) reinstalled, and numerous correct components, including the sump lines, fuel pump, ignition coil, and correct DeRam shock absorbers, all sourced from France. The end result was finished in black over tan leather interior, a &quot;black-and-tan&quot; livery that eventually became a Patterson signature.rnrnAt its completion by RM, the T150-C was debuted at the 2002 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, where it received top honors in the strenuously competitive European Sports and Racing class, besting a Zagato Alfa Romeo and Peugeot 402 Darl'mat-no small achievement! It went on to be displayed selectively at other major concours, including at Amelia Island in 2008.rnrnUnshown in recent years and ripe for further star appearances, the Figoni roadster is offered today as an exceptional example, both of an outstanding high-performance chassis and of a great designer's art. Not just fluid and lithe in Figoni's typical style, it is light, purposeful, and muscular, emphasizing not just beauty but the power beneath-befitting a socialite, befitting a winner, and befitting the finest stable.To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM Sotheby's website.

To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION at RM Sothebys' The Monterey Auction event, 13 - 15 August 2026. rn$550,000 - $750,000 USD rnrnOne of the ultimate French sporting chassis of its erarnSought-after body design, inspired by Joseph FigonirnBeautiful restoration in striking colors and trimrnFormerly owned by the noted collectors Peter Mullin and Bill MarriottrnA CCCA Full Classicrn rnrnFor the second generation of its potent competition-bred T150-C chassis, Talbot-Lago turned to the inspiration of Joseph Figoni, the renowned coachbuilder who produced some of the most outstanding works on their automobiles. Based upon the Figoni-bodied cabriolet shown on Talbot's stand at the October 1934 Paris Salon, the body had exceptionally smooth, clean lines, with a beltline picked out using delicate chrome work, and a convertible top that folded nearly flush with the rear deck, emphasizing grace of line without occupying too much luggage room.rn rnAccording to a prior owner, historian Nicolas Maier noted that this particular T150-C cabriolet, chassis number 90039, was originally delivered in Paris, wearing registration &quot;2125 RM 3,&quot; issued on 1 August 1939. Its next known owner, Francois Lugeon, a Swiss businessman and diplomat residing at the Hotel Ruhl in Nice, registered the car as &quot;5832 BA 8,&quot; after which it was exported to the United States-it is believed through the auspices of either Luigi Chinetti, at the time the post-war Talbot-Lago agent, or West Coast impresario Otto Zipper's Precision Motor Cars, also a noted purveyor of coachbuilt French exotica in the early post-war years.rnrnThe car is understood to have been owned during the 1960s by the legendary American sportsman Briggs Cunningham, who sold it to Classic Car Club of America member Wilbur F. Sanders of Dearborn, Michigan, listed as the car's owner in Tony Carroll's 1976 Talbot-Lago register. It was later acquired by noted French automobile collector Peter Mullin, then passed to J. Willard &quot;Bill&quot; Marriott, and finally to a Swiss collector. When sold in 2013 it was missing its engine but otherwise largely solid and intact, retaining its marvelous Figoni-designed rounded and streamlined radiator shell and other unique details.rnrnBetween 2012 and 2016, a complete restoration was undertaken by the Dutch firm of Hoffes Restoration Management, in reportedly the original hue, Bleu Narval, and with an engine rebuilt by the noted specialist Jim Stokes, using a replacement T23 block-identical to the original T150 unit-and a new T150 cylinder head provided by Karolina of Prague. Afterward the car remained for some time in a Dutch collection, before joining the stable of its present owner. It is accompanied by a photograph documenting the restoration.rnrnAn exceptional Full Classic Talbot, ideal for any number of vintage tours and rallies, this is a splendid example of the French sporting automobile at its most rakish and high-performance best.To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM Sotheby's website.

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