Page 4 - Sample pages "Figoni on Delahaye" by Richard Adatto

CHASSIS 44430
FIGONI BUILD NO.1496
INTRODUCTION TO RACING AND CONNECTION TO THE LUCY SCHELL CARS
Joseph Figoni established his reputation on the racetrack with the aerodynamic design of his coachwork on an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 chassis. This car won the Le Mans 24-Hour races in 1932 and 1933, and as a result, Figoni’s coachwork came to the attention of Lucy O’Reilly Schell and her husband, Laury Schell. Lucy was the daughter of a wealthy American industrialist, and she used her father’s funds to establish a French racing stable, known as the Écurie Bleue. She was the first woman in the history of worldwide car racing to own a Grand Prix racing team.
Lucy and Laury Schell were passionate amateur drivers, and Lucy ordered a rally car on the new Delahaye Type 135 (Chassis 44430) with coachwork by Joseph Figoni in order to compete in the 1935, 1936, and 1937 January Monte Carlo Rallies.
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Above: Lucy Schell at her house in France in 1934.
RICHARD ADATTO ARCHIVE
A 1934 Delahaye Type 134 chassis with a Type 135 engine, with Lucy at the wheel. Coachwork by Joseph Figoni. Delahaye also referred to this chassis as a Type 135.
RICHARD ADATTO ARCHIVE
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