1912 Delahaye Type 43 Landaulette

• Imported from France in 1991
• Restored in 1992
• Dry stored since acquisition in 2000
• Requires recommissioning

This fine Delahaye was offered - and sold - at the recent Bonhams Beaulieu sale in September. The buyer at that sale was unable to complete the purchase and it thus presents another opportunity to the many collectors who expressed an interest at Beaulieu. The estimate of £45,000 - 55,000 remains the same and, apart from this disclosure, the catalogue description also remains the same.

This remarkable Delahaye was offered - and sold - at the recent Bonhams Beaulieu sale in September. The buyer at that sale was unable to complete the purchase and it thus presents another opportunity to the many collectors who expressed an interest at Goodwood. The estimate of £45,000 - 55,000 remains the same and, apart from this disclosure, the catalogue description also remains the same.

Based initially at Tours and from 1906 in Paris, Delahaye built its first automobile in 1895 and later branched out into commercial vehicle manufacture. Emile Delahaye himself designed the early cars and remained with the company he had founded after its sale in 1897. He retired in 1901 due to ill health, leaving Delahaye in the capable hands of production manager Charles Weiffenbach and chief engineer Amédée Varlet. The firm built single- and twin-cylinder models initially, and introduced its first four-cylinder car – the Type 11 – in 1903. In 1909, H M Hobson began importing Delahaye vehicles into the UK, while in 1911 Varlet invented and pioneered the V6 engine in the Type 44.

By the outbreak of The Great War, Delahaye had established a reputation for quality and reliability and was ranked in the top ten of French carmakers. During WWI, Delahaye manufactured military trucks, FN rifles and parts for Hispano-Suiza aero engines.

Powered by a 3.0-litre four-cylinder overhead-valve engine driving via a four-speed gearbox, this Delahaye Type 43 was imported from France in 1991 by the previous owner and underwent a restoration the following year. The current owner purchased the car in 2000 and it has been kept in dry storage ever since. We are advised by the vendor that both the engine and transmission will require light recommissioning before the car returns to the road. Otherwise, the Delahaye is described as in excellent condition, with good electrics. Accompanying documentation consists of photographs of the 1992 restoration, an old-style logbook and a V5C Registration Certificate.