French Racing Blue

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The racing Delahayes of the late 1930s have entered into lore, thanks particularly to the triumph of René Dreyfus’s ‘Million Franc Delahaye’ over the German Silver Arrows in 1938. But the Million Franc car was a 145; more illustrious than that was the Delahaye 135CS, of which 16 were built for the 1936 season, and which reached its zenith when two finished first and second overall in the 1938 Le Mans.

Delahaye

Just a handful survive, including chassis 47186, the last of the 16. Originally supplied to the Ecurie Menier team of chocolatier Jacques Menier and raced by Philippe Maillard-Brune and Charles Druck, it débuted at the 1936 French Grand Prix where the Delahayes were eclipsed only by Bugattis. Sadly, the cancellation of the 1936 Le Mans and trouble at the chocolate factory frustrated Menier’s plans and he began dispersing his racing stable. He gave 47186 to Maillard-Brune, who struggled to be competitive and instead began racing a Simca-Fiat Balilla.

Having been carefully hidden during Nazi occupation, it was acquired by Delphine Cotton for her young son René, who continued racing it in the 1950s against formidable modern machines such as Ferraris and C-type Jaguars. Happily, it was never significantly modified and its acquisition by preservationist Serge Polozzi in1959 has ensured it remains one of the most original survivors.

Now restored to its Ecurie Menier specification, Mick Walsh gets behind the wheel in the July issue of The Automobile, on sale now.

Words by Zack Stiling. Photographs by Tim Scott/Fluid Images.

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