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Of the custom-bodied cars to emerge out of the immediate post-WWII era, this Faget Varnet Cabriolet ranks among the very best. With its original two tone paint scheme, streamlined fenders and uncluttered lines, it was made to impress at the Salon de Paris in October of 1949.

Faget Varnet was one of the rarer coachbuilders of their time, usually limiting work to truck manufacture on the Paris outskirts of Levallois-Perret. They rarely worked on automobiles, but made an exception with our feature car built on Delahaye chassis 801077.

With competition from all the great French coachbuilders like Figoni et Falaschi, Chapron, Saoutchik and Franay, Henri Varnet needed a remarkable design to stand out amongst the crowd. He used sweeping curves reminiscent of the 1930s streamlined era which made the design more dramatic than the other bodies typically found on the Delahaye 135 MS chassis. Furthermore, the design was one of the first built as a monocoque, using the outside panels as a stressed member of the body/frame structure.

Inside, the car is well appointed and features a one-piece dashboard sculpted from European Walnut Burl. It's setup with color-matched O.S. gauges and walnut glove boxes. Custom-fitted luggage is fitted above the reclining top, but that’s not the only storage. Secret compartments in the foot well offer the opportunity to conceal any conspicuous cargo.

A huge one-piece hood is latched on its side and reveals Delahaye’s familiar straight-six engine. Fitted is the ‘84R’ high lift camshaft offering 125 bhp @ 4000 rpm. This power is routed through a MK38 Cotal pre-selector gearbox.

After being launched at the Paris Salon, Faget Varnet updated the car to include small vents beside the grill and a large front bumper. It appeared this way at the Salon de Paris of 1949 and the company stated a second car was being built. After the show, Henri Varnet gifted the car to his daughter to use during her honeymoon in 1950.

The record of 801077 doesn’t become clear again until 1983 when it was registered in Sallanches, France. Before this time it may have been owned by King Mohammed V of Monaco. He was photographed beside a Faget Varnet Cabriolet in the early 1950s.

By 2006, the car was purchased by Cathy and Jerry Gauche who enthusiastically had the car restored back to its original 1948 configuration. The process took Alan Taylor in California two years to complete with help from Rod Jolley Coachbuilders in Engand. The original two-tone blue paint was discovered and matched for the restoration.

The car was completed in time for the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and it won first place in the O-2 Postwar Touring class. It was subsequently displayed at the 2009 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.

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