Talbot Lago T150C Coupe
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Car producer : |
Talbot Lago |
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Model: |
T150C Coupe |
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Year: |
1937-1940 |
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Type: |
Coupe |
The Anglo-French STD (Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq) combine collapsed in 1935. The French Talbot company was acquired and reorganised by Venetian-born engineer Antonio Lago (1893–1960) and after that, the "Talbot-Lago" name was used internationally. On the home market the cars still bore the Talbot badge that they had carried since 1922, which was when, in France, the "Talbot-Darracq" name had given way to "Talbot".
At the same time, the British interests of Talbot were taken over by the Rootes Group and the parallel use of the Talbot brand in France and Britain ended. Talbot-Lago cars sold in Britain were now to be badged as Darracqs.
For 1935, the existing range continued in production but from 1936 these were steadily replaced with cars designed by Walter Becchia, featuring transverse leaf sprung independent suspension. These included the 4-cylinder 2323 cc (13CV) Talbot Type T4 "Minor", a surprise introduction at the 1937 Paris Motor Show, and the 6-cylinder 2,696 cc (15CV) Talbot "Cadette-15", along with and the 6-cylinder 2,996 cc or 3,996 cc (17 or 23CV) Talbot "Major" and its long-wheelbase version, the Talbot "Master": these were classified as Touring cars (voitures de tourisme).
There was also in the second half of the 1930s a range of Sporting cars (voitures de sport) which started with the Talbot "Baby-15", mechanically the same as the "Cadette-15" but using a shorter slightly lighter chassis. The Sporting Cars range centred on the 6-cylinder 2,996 cc or 3,996 cc (17 or 23CV) Talbot "Baby" and also included the 3,996 cc (23CV) 23 and sporting Lago-Spéciale and Lago-SS models, respectively with two and three carburettors, and corresponding increases in power and performance. The most frequently specified body for the Lago-SS was built by Figoni et Falaschi and featured a particularly eye-catching aerodynamic form.
Lago was an excellent engineer who developed the existing six-cylinder engine into a high-performance 4-litre one. The sporting six-cylinder models had a great racing history. The bodies—such as of T150 coupé—were made by excellent coachbuilders such as Figoni et Falaschi or Saoutchik.
While the most note-worthy and spectacular of the T150C road-going cars were built by expert coachbuilders, not all examples would be completed by outside coachbuilders. By the time the T150C even made its first appearance in 1937 trouble was brewing in Europe. By its second year of production, the T150C and everyone involved would be threatened by the outbreak of war. Therefore, not all chassis would be sent to coachbuilders for their now-famed bodies to grace
In August, Lago introduced a touring version of the open T-150 Cs that were often seen racing and winning. At the Paris-Nice Criterium de Tourisme, the new 'T150 C SS' was introduced and under the bonnet was a four-liter, six-cylinder overhead valve engine breathing through triple Zenith-Stromberg carburetors, similar to the racing version. It was fitted with a Wilson pre-selector gearbox which sent the 140 horsepower to the rear wheels. The body was by Paris coachbuilder, Figoni and Falaschi. The result was an elegant, impressive, and awe-inspiring coupe coupled with a racing legacy that was tried-and-true.
There were fewer than 30 examples of the T-150 C SS models created. Most were given coachwork by Figoni and Falaschi. Only four Pourtout Aerocoupés were created.
The Talbot-Lago T-150-C chassis provided a superb platform for talented coachbuilders to construct the elegant, and often flamboyant, curvaceous coupe bodies. They were streamlined, sleek, and light enough to race competitively. Joseph Figoni and Ovidio Falaschi built twelve of these tear-drop styled cars, known as Goutte d'Eau (drop of water) between 1937 and 1939. They received the nickname, 'New York Style coupes' because the first example was introduced at the New York Auto Show. Five more were built in a different notchback Teardrop style and were named 'Jeancart,' after a wealthy French patron who commissioned the first example. Historian Richard Adatto noted that it took the Figoni and Falaschi craftsman some 2,100 hours to complete a custom body. Since they were hand built, no two Teardrop coupes were exactly alike.
This berlinetta was built by Carrosserie Marcel Pourtout. The styling was handled by their top designer, Georges Paulin, who had earlier sketched a one-of-a-kind Bentley coupe for Andre Embiricos. This fastback represents yet another variation of the teardrop style. In comparison to the earlier Figoni efforts, this example has a more masculine and aggressive appearance. The car was commissioned by Monsieur Parent, a wealthy amateur racer who competed in a few regional events.
The marque's ultimate pre-war road car, the 4.0-litre T150C, was available in two different chassis lengths: 2.65m as used for the factory's T150C 'SS' competition cars and 2.95m for the mechanically identical 'Lago Speciale' sports roadster. Despite its greater length, necessary to accommodate more opulent coachwork, the latter weighed a mere 130kg (59lbs) more than the former and was often raced by its owners. Power outputs varied between the 140bhp available to customers and the 155bhp attained by the works team.
