Lot details

Year: 1925
Make: Delahaye
Model: Type 97 Boattail Special Skiff
Registration: BF 9753
Chassis No: 24484
Odometer: 65,419

• Beautifully restored to a scarcely believable standard
• 'Labourdette skiff' style, inspired by museum original
• Matching numbers, with authenticity confirmed by President of the Delahaye Club Worldwide

One of the earliest automobile manufacturers, Delahaye began in 1894, producing low-volume luxury cars with coachbuilt bodies. By 1932 it had a competition department, and in the 1930s and 40s Delahayes were often racing at the Monte Carlo rally, Le Mans and Montlhery, collecting silverware along the way. Delahaye also briefly held the world water-speed record, but the French marque was amalgamated with Hotchkiss before closing forever in 1954.

Relatively little is known about the early history of this Type 97, indeed, the style of its original bodywork is not known, although given its design and age it was likely a boattail, a common design on competition sports cars at the time. After being stored in a barn in the south of France for a lengthy period, its chassis, engine, and running gear were restored within the last ten years by Roda Classica in Portugal. The woodwork was fabricated by a master craftsman in Cornwall, while the aluminium front and rear wings were constructed by aircraft engineers in Kent.

Taking inspiration from the original Panhard et Levassor Skiff in the Louwman Museum, this Type 97 has been finished to an extremely high standard. Not only that, but the artisans also employed traditional and period-correct boat-building techniques, recalling the sleek racing boats of the period. Layers of steamed wooden planks have been beautifully fastened to a wooden frame with copper roves. The sleek aerodynamic body is then highly varnished with no door openings, providing incredible rigidity for such a lightweight body.

The interior benefits from beautiful green leather Roi-de-Belge seating with matching green carpeting as well as a turned aluminium dashboard, beautifully restored dials and a matching eight-day clock by Paris specialist Ateliers Seignol. Other instruments are nickel-plated with matching Marchal headlamps, touring radiator cap and wooden artillery wheels sporting 820x120 Waymaster Cord tyres.

This Delahaye has covered fewer than 500 miles since its completion. It is fully UK registered and, very importantly, is supplied with a letter from Monsieur Tissot, the President of the Delahaye Club Worldwide, confirming its authenticity as a 'matching numbers' example. Consigned by Edward Bridger-Stille