Delahaye 235 MS by Henri Chapron
- 1953
- 62.588 km
- Chassis: 818066
- EU title
- EU taxes paid
- Sold
One of only 85 built between October 1951 and May 1954, this Delahaye features handsome coachwork by Henri Chapron. The influential Parisian carrossier, whose company was always renowned for the style and elegance of its work sculptured 33 of the Type 7029 Usine bodies for the 235 chassis.
This graceful 1953 Delahaye 235 MS with chassis number 818066 offered here is equiped with the pleasant Cotal electrical semi-automatic gearbox. It completed an extensive, professional restoration in 1992 and is in generally good condition.
Right-hand drive like many high quality French cars of the period, the distinctive oval grille and long, sweeping bonnet are met by a split wind screen. The elegant body has been finished in dark green, while the interior is upholstered in beige cognac leather and like the body shows a nice patina.
This stunning Delahaye is certainly one of the more desirable examples available, particularly given its striking Chapron coachwork. It was registered 235 TQ 84 in the Vaucluse department in the southeast of France in 1992 by the last owner and comes with its French Carte Grise. Hence, EU taxes have been paid and the car is easy to register in the European Union.
Elegant and stylish, while at the same time offering good performance from the six-cylinder engine, this Delahaye 235 represents a wonderful opportunity for the connoisseur to enjoy the very best of French coachbuilding expressed on the ultimate development of a Le Mans-winning chassis.
After only selling 77 cars in 1951, Delahaye decided to switch gears and build the 235. It was build in conjunction with french designer Philippe Charbonneaux with a new front grill that represented Delhaye's GFA distributor Générale Française Automobile. It was marketed as an expensive car that was one of the last built up as a coachbuilt special and the last car Delahaye sold.
Similar in detail to the 135, the 235 accommodated the wider bodies typical of the early 1950s and featured the new broad grille. It offered better performance with greater compression, triple carburettors and a new camshaft, resulting in a top speed of approximately 160 km/h. Gearbox choices included a synchronised four-speed unit or an optional Cotal four-speed pre-selector unit.
To launch the 235, Delahaye prepared their first example with an aluminum body by Motto that reached 173 km/h on the Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry. The second car was fitted with a body by Letourneur et Marchand to the factory plans and was a huge hit at the 1951 Paris Motor Show.
Ultimately, only 85 examples of the 235 were produced through 1954 including the first aluminum prototype. Many of bodies were built by Antem, Chapron and Letourneur et Marchand who stuck to the designs penned out by Philippe Charbonneaux. Some special one-offs were produced by Barou, Beutler, Figoni, Saoutchik and Faget-Varnet.
Distributed by GFA, a 235 with Chapron Type 7029 Usine coachwork fetched 3.800.000 French Francs, five times more than a Citroën Traction Avant! The standard 235 chassis was available for 1.365.000 FF.
At the time, some of the press criticized the design for being too similar to the 135 and also being far too heavy and expensive. It also offered similar performance to the Talbot Lago Record which was only 2.250.000 FF.
In the winter of 1953 Delahaye promoted the car by driving their Motto prototype from Cape Town, South Africa to Algers, Algeria and beat the famous raid Le Cap-Alger time by finishing the run in 10 days and 5 hours. This did little to sell the model and by the summer of 1954 Delahaye was sold to Hotchkiss and the marque was gone.
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