Page 11 - Sample pages "Figoni on Delahaye" by Richard Adatto

Chassis 48667 is one of the first Delahayes bodied by Figoni & Falaschi to come to the United States, and it is the only one with a
This blue Delahaye Type 135 is a torpedo cabriolet on a short competition chas- sis and is the seventh in the series of eleven such Paris Auto Salon cars. It is the only one in the series that still includes a Geo Ham plaque, as it had arrived in the United States before the lawsuit between Ham and Figoni was settled, described previously in “The Geo Ham Affair.” Once Mr. Figoni prevailed, no plaques were required on subsequent cars.
Chassis 48667 made its first appearance in the United States in the June 1947 issue of Road and Track, which documented the cabriolet’s exploits at the Mohansic Lake Hillclimb in New York. It was entered by its owner, Bob Grier, one of the first rally drivers of a Delahaye in the United States and founder of the Motor Sports Club of America. He only finished in the middle of the field, but the crowd thought the Delahaye was the best-looking car at the event. Later that fall, it won the New York Hillclimb sponsored by the Motor Sports Club of America at Keene, New York.
In 1964, Malcolm Pray was able to fulfill his childhood dream of owning a Delahaye by purchasing the cabriolet. Back in 1939, before the outbreak of World War II, his father had taken him to visit the New York World’s Fair. Young Malcolm had seen a Delahaye at the French exhibit and fallen in love with it. “I used to draw pictures of it when I was at school,” recounted Mr. Pray. “So when I grew up and happened to see this car in a used car lot near my home,
Geo Ham plaque.
MICHAEL FURMAN
103
LTON WATSON FINE BOO © DALTON WATSON FINE BOOKS © DALTON WATSON FINE BOOKS © DALTON WATSON FINE BOOKS ALTON WATSON F