Delage

France, 1905 – 1954

(1) Automobiles Delage, Courbevoie, Seine, 1905 – 1935

(2) Automobiles Delage, Paris, 1935 – 1954

Louis Delage, a former employee of Turgan-Foy and Peugeot, started modestly with a conventional shaft-driven single-cylinder 6½hp runabout with a De Dion Bouton engine which was marketed in England as the Baby Friswell. As early as 1906 Delage showed an interest in racing, and the Delage make’s second place in that year’s Coupe des Voiturettes was followed in 1908 with an outright win on a Delage single powered by a Causan-Designed engine. Meanwhile touring Delage cars continued to use De Dion power units, and later 4-cylinder engines of modest capacity built by Ballot, though single-cylinder cars rated at 6, 8 and 9hp were still catalogued by Delage for sale as late as 1910. The 1.4-litre ’Delage 12’ of 1909 was a neat little machine with monobloc cylinders, 3-speed gearbox and fuel tank streamlined into the dashboard, which sold for £230 and was progressively developed up to 1914. This Delage car had a pressure-fed crankshaft in 1910 and was joined in 1911 by a 2.5-litre 30bhp six on similar lines: the footbrake, unusually, worked on the rear wheels. This Delage model had acquired a 4-speed gearbox and electrics by 1914, a version with 11ft wheelbase being listed for town-carriage work.

Delage also pursued his racing career to good purpose, winning the 1911 Coupe de l’Auto with a horizontal-valve 3-litre 4-cylinder Delage which had a 5-speed gearbox with overdrive top. These features were also found on the 6.3-litre Delage cars which won both the 1913 GP du Mans and the 1914 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, while for the 1914 Grand Prix his 4½-litre Delage cars had twin ohc, desmodromic valves and 4-wheel brakes (but no handbrake). While producing munitions in World War 1, Delage found time to develop a new long-stroke 4½-litre sv 6-cylinder (Delage Type CO), which went into production in 1919 with 4-wheel brakes, but still with a fixed cylinder head. There was also a companion 3-litre 4-cylinder, and by 1921 the Delage CO had developed into the Delage CO2 with ohv, twin-plug head, dual magneto ignition and 88bhp. The 1920s saw a line of excellent fast Delage tourers, while from 1922 to 1927 a costly but very successful Delage racing programme was pursued. Starting with the 6-cylinder Delage I and Delage II sprint cars, the Delage company progressed to an ohv V12 of 10.7 litres’ capacity in 1923, with which René Thomas annexed the World’s Land Speed Record at Arpajon in the following year with a speed of 143,31mph. The Delage car subsequently had a long and distinguished racing career in England. For the 2-litre GP Formula in 1924 Planchon designed a four ohc V12 Delage of great complexity – in twin-supercharged 1925 form it gave 190bhp and won the French and Spanish Grand Prix. Equally costly were the Lory-designed 1½-litre twin-cam Delage straight-8s of 1926 – 1927, with 5-speed overdrive gearboxes and various types of supercharging. In their early days these Delage cars had a bad name for overheating but they were unbeatable in 1927, with five major Grands Prix to their credit. There was also R.J.B. Seaman’s triumphal 1936 voiturette season, when the nine-year-old Delage trounced the ERA and Maseati opposition.

Mainstay of the Delage touring-car programme from 1924 onwards was the classic 2.1-litre 4-cylinder Delage DI for sale, with ohv, 4-wheel brakes, magneto ignition (coil on later cars), 4-speed gearbox and single-plate clutch. For sale at £475 in England it was excellent value and sports versions with aluminium pistons were quite fast. At the same time the Delage company offered the vast 6-litre Delage Type-GL as competition for the Hispano-Suiza: unusual features of this ohc 6-cylinder were the clutched fan, twin oil pumps, X-braced frame and hydraulic servo brakes – it could be bought in England for £1650 in 1925. It was only produced up to 1927. The Delage DI had gone a year later, Delage turning to 6-cylinder cars of more modest capacity: the 3.2-litre ohv Delage DM followed by a less successful sv Delage DR, made in 2.2-litre and 2.5-litre forms. The 1929 Paris Salon saw the first of the big ohv long-stroke straight-8s Delage cars for sale, all with coil ignition, pump and fan cooling, and 4-speed gearboxes. Valve bounce was countered by making the springs operate separate rocker arms. It came in several wheelbase lengths from 10ft 10in to 11ft 11in, and carried superbly elegant if not always practical bodywork. In 1931 it was joined by a 3-litre Delage D6 which was the same car with two less cylinders.

A super-sports Delage D8 was available in 1932: though often overbodied it took its International class 12-hour record at 112mph. The Delage range was further complicated in 1932 by the advent of a new series of short-stroke models, the first of which, the Delage D6-11, had an almost square 2.1-litre 6-cylinder unit, with the Delage D8’s valve gear, independent transverse front suspension and a silent-third gearbox. Inexpensive pressed-steel saloon bodywork was used and the Delage car sold for £595. By 1934 there was not only a companion straight-8 (the Delage D8-15) of 2.7-litres, but also a 1½-litre 4-cylinder version. The big Delage D8s were still listed. 1935 Delages featured synchromesh and hydraulic brakes and slightly undersquare 6- and 8-cylinder engines were used: all Delage cars now had ifs. Louis Delage was, however, forced to sell out to Delahaye and thereafter the Delage cars slowly evolved into more florid versions of that make, built in the same factory. The 4-cylinder cars died out with the obscure 2.2-litre mechanically-braked Delage DI-12 of 1936, a badge-engineered Delahaye. There was an abortive plan to make Delage cars in England in 1937. Up to World War 2 the Delage company’s offerings were the 2.7-litre Delage D6-70 and the 4.3-litre 8-cylinder Delage D8-100 and Delage D8-120. All had hydraulic brakes, Cotal gearboxes and ifs, and the Delage D6-70 could be bought in England for £695. This Delage was raced to some purpose, winning the 1938 TT and taking second place at Le Mans in 1939, in which year capacities of both engines were increased. The 3-litre 6-cylinder car appeared after the war, but only a few were made, and Louveau’s and Jover’s second place at Le Mans in 1949 was almost the last that was heard of Delage. Along with Delahaye, Delage was aborbed by Hotchkiss in 1954.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com

Lea-Francis

GB, 1904 – 1906; 1920 – 1935; 1937 – 1953; 1960

(1) Lea & Francis Ltd, Coventry, Warwickshire, 1904 – 1935

(2) Lea-Francis Cars Ltd, Coventry, Warwickshire, 1937 – 1960

Lea Francis started as bicycle manufacturers, like so many car makers, but unlike most of the rest, never went over permanently and consistently to Lea Francis cars. These Lea Francis cars appeared in fits and starts. The first appeared in 1904, in the shape of a 15hp Lea Francis car with a 3-cylinder horizontal engine, the oddest feature of which was its connecting rods over 3ft long. In the same year, however, Lea Francis stopped making their cars, and Singer the Cycle Company began building Lea Francis cars under licence and under the Singer name. R.H. Lea had in fact worked for Singer before branching out on his own. Thus began another famous car name. Lea Francis made motor cycles from 1911, and they concentrated on these until 1920. In that year two Lea Francis cars reappeared beside the motorcycles; assembled 4-cylinder touring Lea Francis cars of 11.9 and 13.9hp. Few of either were made. Then, late in 1922, the Lea Francis car company found its feet at last, with an equally conventional assembled light Lea Francis car. This Lea Francis car had a 1.074cc 4-cylinder sv engine of 8.9hp by Coventry-Simplex, replaced in the following year by a 10hp Meadows unit of 1¼ litres with overhead valves. A Lea Francis car with 7hp Bradshaw flat-twin engine came to nothing. There were 3 forward speeds and quarter-elliptic springs at both ends. The 10hp Lea Francis car was very popular, and was made until 1928. Like other Lea Francise cars to come, it was well made, dependable, and lively. The great moment came for the Lea Francis cars in the very important RAC Small Car Trials of 1924, in which the Lea Francis car made the best all-round performance. During 1925 a wider family market was sought with the 12/22hp J-type Lea Francis car. This Lea Francis car had a longer wheelbase, allowing more spacious bodies, front-wheel brakes, a 1½-litre 4EC Meadows engine to cope with the weight and a 4-speed gearbox. For the sake of comfort, semi-elliptic springs were substituted at the rear on the P-type Lea Francis car introduced for 1928, which also had a plate clutch and 4ED meadows engine.

The Lea Francis car firm’s first serious sports car was the L-type with 4ED engine, announced for 1925. The Lea Francis 12/40hp was one of the best assembled cars in Britain, and appealed more widely than the light Lea Francis cars. It was, indeed, current until the second cessation of car production in 1935. However, Lea Francis also made some more ponderous, less lively Lea Francis cars, without the same degree of success. From 1925 until 1929, the Lea Francis range duplicated some of the heavy 6-cylinder machines offered by Vulcan of Southport, with whom Lea Francis cars had been associated since 1922. The 18hp Lea Francis car was a 2¼-litre car with cantilever rear springs and overhead worm drive. This Lea Francis car was succeeded by A.O. Lord’s Type T, with its advanced but unreliable Lea Francis LFS-type, double ohc engine of 1.7-litres. There was also, in 1928, a 2-litre six Lea Francis car. These Vulcan/ Lea Francis cars ended with the demise of the Vulcan. However, an excellent Lea Francis car with a six was at last introduced for 1931: the Lea Francis Ace of Spades model, with their own 2-litre, single ohc engine. This Lea Francis car continued alongside the old 12/40hp until 1935, together with a new 18hp Lea Francis car, which was a 2¼-litre enlargement of the Lea Francis Ace of Spades. However, a really powerful Lea Francis car was also listed from 1928. This Lea Francis Hyper Sports was a quite different car, with its heavily-modified, Cozette-supercharged Meadows 1½-litre engine, low build and raked radiator. The sports-racing two-seater Lea Francis car could attain 90mph, though a coupé and a short open tourer could also be had by those who did not intend to enter competitions. The Lea Francis Hyper Sports won the 1928 Ulster Trophy race.

A new company introduced two entirely new Lea Francis cars for 1938. These Lea Francis cars were designed by Hugh Rose, who had been responsible for the Riley Nine engine and, like the Riley, had 4-cylinder power units with push-rod overhead valves operated by two high camshafts. The Lea Francis car had ceased to be an entirely assembled car. A 12hp and a 14hp Lea Francis car were available, with cubic capacities of 1½ and 1.6-litres. Both had a 4-speed synchromesh gearbox. A sports version of the 1½-litre Lea Francis car was also sold, thus maintaining the old tradition. These two ‘Leafs’ were good cars, and as they were new, up-to-date Lea Francis carmodels, they could be continued after World War 2. Most of those built in this period were Lea Francis Fourteens, which were heavier but had a bigger bore and a capacity of 1.8-litres. A tuned sports Lea Francis car of the 14hp arrived for 1948. At the end of that year, an export version of the 14hp Lea Francis car, with torsion-bar independent front suspension, was shown and this suspension was adopted for both the 14hp and for the new 18hp, with a 2½-litre engine, in 1950. The sports model of the 18hp Lea Francis car was a fine car, with 100bhp available. The Lea Francis cars for 1953 had hydraulic brakes, but that was the last year in which the Lea Francis car appeared as a competitive production car. By mid-1952, output had fallen to six Lea Francis cars a week. An expensive car of specialist appeal,  the post-war years were too hard for it. In 1960 a few prototypes of a new sports Lea Francis car, the Leaf-Lynx, were made, but it never reached production. The power unit of this Lea Francis car was a 2½-litre Ford Zephyr, there was independent front suspension and disc brakes were supplied, but the car was ill-favoured and ill received. No better luck attented the Lea Francis carfirm’s attempt to make the Nobel bubble-car.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; TRN

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com