1902 Delahaye 6hp Type O Vis-à-vis

1902 Delahaye 6hp Type O Vis-à-vis

Delahaye were heavy engineers, manufacturing brick-making machinery and, later, stationary engines before entering the field of motor car manufacture as true pioneers in 1894. Their early offerings were Benz-like and in the Paris-Marseilles-Paris Race of 1896 Delahaye took 4th and 6th places. Unlike Panhard-Levassor and Mors the company focused little on motor sport however flourished under the leadership of Charles Weiffenbach who joined the company as Chief Engineer in 1898. At the peak of 19th Century production some twenty cars per month were leaving the Paris factory. Delahaye perhaps moved forward more slowly than others and the 1902 Type O was arguably a little archaic with its horizontal, single-cylinder engine mounted at the rear and double chain drive. The engine dimensions were 110mm x 140mm, giving a capacity of 1,330cc, and this drove through a two-speed gear system with reverse. By 1902 front and rear wheels were of a similar size and wheel steering was the norm, although this car curiously features a vertical tiller.

This timewarp car is reputed to have been kept at the factory from new, where it is thought to have been an early test and development car, and was only sold when the receivers were called in in the mid-1950s. From 1933 to 1950 the car was actively campaigned in Rallyes des Ancestres in France by P Roptin who had been an apprentice at Delahaye when this car was built. The car participated in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run in 1959 and was acquired for the collection of M H Lips in Holland in the early 1960s. Lips was to restore the car at that stage and rallied it extensively from 1964 onwards – it was his favourite steed on the Brighton Road. In the early 1990s it passed to fellow Dutch collector J. Jonker prior to later acquisition by the Ward Brothers.

This handsome veteran is smartly presented in maroon livery with black wings and fine red coachlining. It is furnished with beige leather upholstery and fittings throughout are nickel. It sits on 760mm x 90mm Michelin pneumatic tyres. Importantly this car comes with a comprehensive dating report by leading veteran authority Malcolm Jeal, indicating clearly the rationale of the 1902 dating. This is another highly important French veteran car with outstanding manufacturer’s provenance and early French history.

Descriptions & pictures by bonhams & ruotevecchie