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After only selling 77 cars in 1951, Delahaye decided to switch gears and build the 235. It was build in conjunction with french designer Philippe Charbonneaux with a new front grill that represented Delhaye's distributor Generale Française Automobile (GFA). It was marketed as an expensive car that was one of the last built up as a coachbuilt special and the last car Delahaye sold.

Similar in detail to the 135, the 235 accommodated the wider bodies typical of the early 1950s and featured the new broad grille. It offered better performance with greater compression, triple carburettors and a new camshaft, resulting in a top speed of approximately 100 mph. Gearbox choices included a synchronised four-speed unit or an optional Cotal four-speed pre-selector unit.

To launch the 235, Delahaye prepared their first example with an aluminum body by Motto that reached 173.098 km/h on the Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry. The second car was fitted with a body by Letourneur et Marchand to the factory plans and was a huge hit at the 1951 Paris Motor Show. Delahaye offered 170 kph performance and the car achieved it with several different bodystyles.

Ultimately, only about 85 examples of the 235 were produced through 1954 including the first aluminum prototype. Many of bodies were built by Letourneur et Marchand, Antem and Chapron who stuck to the designs penned out by Philippe Charbonneaux. Some special on-offs were produced by Ghia, Saoutchik and Faget-Varnet. Distributed by GFA, a 235 with Chapron coachwork fetched 3.800.000₣, five times more than a Citroên Traction! The standard chassis was available for 1,365,000₣.

At the time, some of the press criticized the design for being too similar to the 135 and also being far too heavy and expensive. It also offered similar performance to the Talbot Lago Record which was only 2,250,000₣.

In the winter of 1953 Delahaye promoted the car by driving their Motto prototype from Cape Town, South Africa to Algers, Algeria and beat the famous 'raid Le Cap-Alger' time by finishing the run in 10 days and 5 hours. This did little to sell the model which had only sold five cars in 1953. By the summer of 1954 Delahaye was sold to Hotchkiss and the marque was gone.

Chassis & Sales

The streamlined Ghia-bodied Pillarless Saloon offered here was the brainchild of Mario Felice Boano, with striking hinged wheelhouse fairings. It was restored in 1990, when it was owned by the Blackhawk Collection and displayed at Pebble Beach. It was then sold in 2004 and more recently joined the growing O’Quinn Collection in Houston, Texas. Since then, it has been preserved in the collection and continues to present well, despite certain small cosmetic imperfections to the paint and interior. Rare and fascinating with stunning lines by Boano, this is certainly one of Delahaye’s more unique designs. Sold for €112.000 at RM Auctions' 2010 Sport Classics of Monaco event.

818004-1952 Coach Faget-Varnet. For the design of this body Philippe Charbonneaux collaborated with Wimille-Ford for an extremely daring design that included pontoon fenders with a "trilogy of curves". The contemporary lines were probably ahead of their time, since the car took two years to sell. For some reason it was built with right hand drive and a gaggle of Jaeger instrumentation. At their 2002 Auction on 16 December 2002, Artcurial sold 818004 with an estimate of only €30-35,000.

Chassis & Sales

1950 Delahaye 235M Pillarless Saloon by Ghia 800514 - sold for €112,000 The streamlined Ghia-bodied Pillarless Saloon offered here was the brainchild of Mario Felice Boano, with striking hinged wheelhouse fairings. It was restored in 1990, when it was owned by the Blackhawk Collection and displayed at Pebble Beach. It was then sold in 2004 and more recently joined the growing O’Quinn Collection in Houston, Texas. Since then, it has been preserved in the collection and continues to present well, despite certain sma... more
Gallery: 2010 RM Auctions Sporting Classics of Monaco

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