Delage D8

Delage D8-15 Cabriolet with coachwork by Letourneur & Marchand (1935)

In 1933 Delage introduced the D8-15 in which the size of the 8-cylinder engine had been reduced to 2,668 cc (162.8 cu in). The "-15" suffix referred to the 15 CV car tax band in which the smaller engine placed the car. The lesser performance of this version of the Delage D8 moved the model downmarket in the direction of volume automakers such as Citroën who were already working on a 16 CV six-cylinder version of their newly introduced Traction Avant model (although the project seems to have been a low priority for Citroën and the car in question would only appear in the market, initially very cautiously, in June 1938).[1]

The 15CV Delage D8, like the original 23CV version, was produced both in “-Normale” versions and in a shorter wheelbase “-S” version. However, the Delage D8-15 had been withdrawn by the end of 1934.

1935 Delage D8-105 Sport Coupé with coachwork by Autobineau

The same year saw the launch of the D8-85 and the D8-105. The D8-85 was the less extreme in terms of ultimate performance, offered with a choice between a 3,378 mm (133.0 in) and a 3,578 mm (140.9 in) chassis. The engine displacement is 3,570 cc (217.9 cu in) in this version producing, as indicated by the name, a maximum output of 85 hp (63 kW) at 4,000 rpm. On The D8-105 the engine size was the same, but the unit was modified to produce 105 hp (77 kW), while the car sat on a shortened 3,296 mm (129.8 in) chassis.

In April 1935 the manufacturer’s financial difficulties culminated in the closure of Delage plant at Courbevoie, as a result of which the D8-85 and Delage D8-105 were taken out of production.

The arrangements with Delahaye were worked through over a period of several years, with Delage effectively a Delahaye subsidiary by 1938. Walter Watney, the British-born entrepreneurs who established in 1935 the Delage sales and marketing company "SAFAD" [2] remained in post till 1940. Greater urgency was needed over the question of where to build the cars now that the Delage factory had closed. The solution already in place by 1936 involved continuing production of Delage engines and retaining other mechanical components, but installing them on existing Delahaye chassis.

The first D8 to be produced at the Delahaye Paris plant under the new arrangements was the D8-100. In this period Delahaye were producing cars with fashionably flamboyant bodies from bespoke body builders such as Figoni et Falaschi and Saoutchik, and the Delage cars followed the same trends. The D8 as the top "mainstream" Delage model, turned up, during the second half of the decade, with various fabulously aerodynamic profiles. Coachbuilders who had traditionally worked closely with Delage during the years of independence, chief among them Letourneur & Marchand and their subsidiary, Autobineau, were also responsible for many eye catching D8 bodied cars during this time.

The D8-100’s 8-cylinder engine was now increased to 4,302 cc (262.5 cu in), the cylinder bores giving rise to a fiscal horsepower of 25 CV.,[3] Power output for the D8-100 was listed at 90 hp (66 kW), although by 1937 105 hp (78 kW) at 3500 rpm was the value given.[3] By this time the Cotal pre-selector transmission, previously an option, came included in the price of a Delage D8.[3] Delahayes were still powered by six-cylinder engines, and the Delage D8 was the top model produced under either brand.

The D8-100 was launched with a wheelbase choice between 3,630 mm (143 in) and 3,350 mm (132 in),[4] although according to some sources the shorter chassis was delisted in 1937

By October 1937 Delage were also listing at the Paris motor show a D8-120 model, which was essentially a D8-100 with the cylinder bore/diameter increased by 4 mm. Listed power was now 120 hp (88 kW) at 4,500 rpm.[4] A long-wheelbase D8-120 was featured prominently in An American in Paris.[5] (Image here.)

Unusual is the Aerosport Coupé, which featured a pillarless hardtop body ten years before General Motors introduced hardtops for their Buick and Cadillac lines.

In 1939 the larger engine from the D8-120 also found its way into the D8-100. However, with the declaration of war in 1939 and the invasion of northern France, in 1940, passenger car production came to an end, as the Delahaye plant was taken over by the German military occupation. Although the six-cylinder Delages would return in 1946, the eight-cylinder D8 series did not.

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  1937 Delage D8-120 Coupé Sport, coachwork by Letourneur & Marchand
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  1936 Delage D8 120 Chapron Cabriolet
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  1936 Delage D8 120 Chapron Cabriolet Hood Ornament
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  1937 Delage D8 S Letourneur et Marchand Aerodynamic Coupé
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  1937 Delage D8 S Letourneur et Marchand Aerodynamic Coupé
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  1937 Delage D8 S Letourneur et Marchand Aerodynamic Coupé