Daily Archives: December 30, 2014

Straddling Hostilities – Delage 3 Litre Course

In 1932 Delage launched it’s D6 series which featured independent front suspension, hydraulic front brakes and a six cylinder motor of 2.1 litres / 128 cui.

Delage 3 litre Course, John Warden, VSCC, Loton Park.

Like the Delahaye 135 series, which initially used cable operated brakes, the Delage D6’s were available with a variety of chassis lengths onto which coach builders, like Charon would build a body in what ever style a customer required.

Delage 3 litre Course, John Warden, VSCC, Loton Park.

By 1936 D6’s were available with motors just over 3 litres / 183 cui when Delage started building the 3 Litre Course model for competition.

Delage 3 litre Course, John Warden, VSCC, Loton Park.

Records show that one such car entered by Ecurie Walter Watney driven by Louis Gérard and Georges Monneret finished second at the Le Mans 24 Hours and on the other side of the hostilities in 1949 entrant and driver Henri Louveau sharing a 3 litre D6S with Juan Jover from Spain repeated the feat at the same venue.

John Warden’s 3 Litre Course shown in these photographs taken at a VSCC meeting at Loton Park is listed in the programme as a 1937 model, the DVLA records show the car as being built and imported to the United Kingdom in 1949, their are myriad reasons for such a discrepancies arising, if you happen to know the real reason please do not hesitate to chip in below.

Thanks for joining me on this “Straddling Hostilities” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psychoontyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now.

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