An alien spaceship on the streets of Moscow

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Keeping up with the Figoni & Falaschi-style theme of the last few days (click here and here for more), we thought we’d share these two intriguing pictures with you. They were recently shared by Sergei Yakovlev.

Not much is known about them, except that they are said to have been taken in Russia in the early 1950s. According to one source, they show the Delahaye 165 owned by King Mihai — or Michael — of Romania, but that definitely does not seem to be the case. We do not even know if the King’s Delahaye was Figoni & Falaschi-bodied, although that would make sense. The only V12-powered 165 we could find came with all the excesses typical of just that.

But what is this vehicle then? The fact is that it must have been inspired by F&F’s refined craftsmanship, including all the sweeps and swooshes that the French coachbuilder became so famous for in the late 1930s. The only thing we could think of was that it may be an Aero coachbuilt by Sodomka — but probably not. A private effort then? In that case, it’s a pretty convincing one. Sergei has no idea either, only adding: “Of course, on the streets of Moscow it must have looked like an alien spaceship.” Do you know better?

Words by Jeroen Booij. Pictures courtesy of Sergei Yakovlev.

This article was originally published on June 20, 2022.

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