Delage D4/8-100 1939
Coachwork by Antem
There were seven of them. English lads from the 1950s, with pale skin and wavy hair. They crossed the Channel, aiming to head south by the cheapest means possible – which in their case was a composite car made from a battered French Antem body mounted on the chassis of a Delage D4/8-100 from 1939. This old banger had previously been used in a circus, which explains its somewhat unusual colour scheme. In other words, it was not one of the classic models from the glory years of the Société Anonyme Française des Automobiles Delage, but still a car with a certain je ne sais quoi.
Smoking their thin cigarettes and spilling wine on the back seat as they went, the seven English students set off in search of European romance and adventure. Via Paris, through Strasburg and on to Nice and Marseille. And then back north, presumably having first prayed for divine intervention at Lourdes. Or that at least is what the stickers on the side windows suggest. Unfortunately, divine intervention only helped them as far as Brussels, where the car finally broke down. This time beyond repair, a local mechanic told them. However, the mechanic also told them that he knew of a collector in Ghent who might be interested in it, whatever its condition. He phoned Ghislain Mahy and explained the situation. At first, Mahy was inclined to turn down this strange car about which he knew nothing, but he eventually took pity on the lads and told the mechanic: ‘Give them 500 francs for a train ticket home and I’ll come and collect the car in a few weeks.’ Which he did. Since then, the Delage D8-100 has remained untouched for decades, except, perhaps, by the occasional spider: a silent testimony to a summer in the 1950s when a group of young lads discovered for the very first time what being young is all about.
4.750 cc
8 Cylinder
95 pk
Expo : Mahy, a family of cars - The Barnfind Collection
07/07/2023 - 03/09/2023
Autoworld
Brussels - Belgium
August 2023
Delage D4/8-100 1939
Coachwork by Antem
There were seven of them. English lads from the 1950s, with pale skin and wavy hair. They crossed the Channel, aiming to head south by the cheapest means possible – which in their case was a composite car made from a battered French Antem body mounted on the chassis of a Delage D4/8-100 from 1939. This old banger had previously been used in a circus, which explains its somewhat unusual colour scheme. In other words, it was not one of the classic models from the glory years of the Société Anonyme Française des Automobiles Delage, but still a car with a certain je ne sais quoi.
Smoking their thin cigarettes and spilling wine on the back seat as they went, the seven English students set off in search of European romance and adventure. Via Paris, through Strasburg and on to Nice and Marseille. And then back north, presumably having first prayed for divine intervention at Lourdes. Or that at least is what the stickers on the side windows suggest. Unfortunately, divine intervention only helped them as far as Brussels, where the car finally broke down. This time beyond repair, a local mechanic told them. However, the mechanic also told them that he knew of a collector in Ghent who might be interested in it, whatever its condition. He phoned Ghislain Mahy and explained the situation. At first, Mahy was inclined to turn down this strange car about which he knew nothing, but he eventually took pity on the lads and told the mechanic: ‘Give them 500 francs for a train ticket home and I’ll come and collect the car in a few weeks.’ Which he did. Since then, the Delage D8-100 has remained untouched for decades, except, perhaps, by the occasional spider: a silent testimony to a summer in the 1950s when a group of young lads discovered for the very first time what being young is all about.
4.750 cc
8 Cylinder
95 pk
Expo : Mahy, a family of cars - The Barnfind Collection
07/07/2023 - 03/09/2023
Autoworld
Brussels - Belgium
August 2023