Talbot-Lago T26C
The T26C was a single-seater racing car designed and developed by French manufacturer Talbot-Lago. It featured a box section chassis, an unsupercharged 4,483 cc (273.6 cu in) capacity 93 mm × 110 mm (3.66 in × 4.33 in) straight-six engine and a four speed Wilson preselector gearbox.[3] The chassis and gearbox were derived from the company's 1930s racing cars and were similar to those used on their post-war road cars.[3] For the 1950 Formula One season a version with a more powerful engine was introduced, with revised carburation and twin spark plugs. These variants are known as T26C-DA (for Double Allume, i.e. twin plug).[3]
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| Designer(s) | Talbot-Lago | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Production | 1948-1950 | ||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||
| Chassis | Steel box-section frame, aluminium body | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | wishbones, transverse leaf spring, friction shock absorbers | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | live axle, semi-elliptic leaf springs, friction shock absorbers | ||||||||
| Length | 4,077 mm (160.5 in) | ||||||||
| Width | 1,308 mm (51.5 in) | ||||||||
| Axle track | 1,372 mm (54.0 in) (front) 1,308 mm (51.5 in) (rear) | ||||||||
| Wheelbase | 2,502 mm (98.5 in) | ||||||||
| Engine | 4.5 L (270 cu in) OHV I6 (260 bhp) FR layout | ||||||||
| Transmission | Wilson pre-selector 4-speed manual transmission | ||||||||
| Weight | 950 kg (2,090 lb) | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable drivers |  Louis Rosier Yves Giraud-Cabantous Philippe Étancelin | ||||||||
| Debut | 1950 British Grand Prix | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Constructors' Championships | 0 (Note that the Constructors' Championship was first awarded in 1958) | ||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
| n.b. Unless otherwise stated, all data refer to Formula One World Championship Grands Prix only. | |||||||||
Racing history
The T26C made its racing debut in the 1948 Monaco Grand Prix, finishing second in the hands of Louis Chiron.[3] Grand Prix victories were achieved the following year with Louis Rosier winning the 1949 Belgian Grand Prix[4] and Louis Chiron winning the 1949 French Grand Prix.[5]
A modified version, the T26C-GS (for Grand Sport), fitted with two-seater bodywork, cycle wings and lights, won the 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans driven by Louis Rosier and Jean-Louis Rosier.[3]
Doug Whiteford won the 1952 and 1953 Australian Grand Prix driving a Talbot-Lago T26C.
Technical data
| Technical data | T26C (F1) |
|---|---|
| Engine: | Front mounted 6-cylinder in-line engine |
| Displacement: | 4482 cm³ |
| Bore x stroke: | 93 x 110 mm |
| Max power at rpm: | 260 hp at 5 000 rpm |
| Valve control: | 2 camshafts in the engine block, 2 push rod actuated valves per cylinder |
| Compression: | 11.0:1 |
| Carburetor: | 3 Zenith 50 HN |
| Gearbox: | 4-speed Wilson preselector box |
| suspension front: | Double cross links, transverse leaf springs |
| suspension rear: | Rigid rear axle, longitudinal leaf springs |
| Brakes: | Hydraulic drum brakes |
| Chassis & body: | Steel box beam frame with aluminum body |
| wheelbase: | 250 cm |
| Dry weight: | 950 kg |
| Top speed: | 270 km/h |
Complete Formula One World Championship results
Works team entries
(key)
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Driver | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | T26C-DA | Talbot L6 | GBR | MON | 500 | SUI | BEL | FRA | ITA | |
| Yves Giraud-Cabantous |
4 | DNA | Ret | Ret | 8 | |||||
| Eugene Martin |
Ret | Ret | ||||||||
| Louis Rosier |
3 | 3 | 6* | |||||||
| Philippe Étancelin |
Ret | |||||||||
| Raymond Sommer |
Ret |
- * Indicates shared drive with Charles Pozzi in his privately entered T26C
n.b. Prior to 1958 there was no Constructor's World Championship, hence constructors were not awarded points.
Results of other Talbot-Lago cars
(key) (Results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | Driver | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Ecurie Rosier | T26C | Talbot L6 | GBR | MON | 500 | SUI | BEL | FRA | ITA | ||
| Louis Rosier |
5 | Ret | 4 | |||||||||
| Henri Louveau |
Ret | |||||||||||
| Charles Pozzi |
DNA | |||||||||||
| private | 6* | |||||||||||
| Raymond Sommer |
Ret | Ret | ||||||||||
| Pierre Levegh |
DNA | 7 | Ret | Ret | ||||||||
| Guy Mairesse |
Ret | |||||||||||
| Ecurie Belge | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Johnny Claes |
11 | 7 | 10 | 8 | Ret | Ret | |||||
| Ecurie Bleue | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Harry Schell |
8 | ||||||||||
| Ecurie Leutitia | Eugene Chaboud |
Ret | ||||||||||
| Philippe Étancelin | 5* | |||||||||||
| T26C T26C-DA |
Philippe Étancelin |
8 | Ret | Ret | 5* | 5 | ||||||
| 1951 | Ecurie Rosier | T26C T26C-DA T26C-GS |
SUI | 500 | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | ITA | ESP | ||
| Louis Rosier |
9 | 4 | Ret | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | |||||
 Louis Chiron |
Ret | 6 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | ||||||
| Ecurie Belge | Johnny Claes |
13 | 7 | Ret | 13 | 11 | Ret | Ret | ||||
| Ecurie Belgique | Jacques Swaters |
10 | Ret | |||||||||
| André Pilette |
6 | |||||||||||
| private | Yves Giraud-Cabantous |
Ret | 5 | 7 | Ret | 8 | Ret | |||||
| Philippe Étancelin |
10 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 8 | |||||||
| Guy Mairesse |
14 | 9 | ||||||||||
| Eugene Chaboud |
8 | |||||||||||
| Henri Louveau |
Ret | |||||||||||
| Pierre Levegh |
8 | 9 | Ret | |||||||||
 Duncan Hamilton |
12 | Ret | ||||||||||
 José Froilán González |
Ret | |||||||||||
| Georges Grignard |
Ret |
- * Indicates shared drive
References
- "1948 - 1950 Talbot Lago T26C Grand Prix Specifications". Ultimatecarpage.com.
- "Talbot Lago T26C Biplace group S (1950) - Racing Cars". tech-racingcars.wikidot.com.
- Melissen, Wouter (18 October 2013). "Talbot Lago T26C Grand Prix". Ultimatecarpage.com. Archived from the original on 2020-12-02.
- VIII Grand Prix de Belgique, www.statsf1.com Retrieved on 17 February 2014
- VI Grand Prix de France, www.statsf1.com Retrieved on 17 February 2014
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