Page 6 - Sample pages "Figoni on Delahaye" by Richard Adatto

For better turning ability, the front wheels of this rally car are open.
As with all short wheelbase chassis, the front edge of the rear fender is adjacent to the rear edges of the doors. FIGONIARCHIVE
which were mounted above the bumper rather than faired into the body. This car was the fourth of six coupés built by Figoni in 1936.
According to André Vaucourt, archivist for the Delahaye Club of France, research indicates that the car was delivered in 1936 to Jean Trémoulet, a famous Delahaye race car driver; its registration at that time was 7227 RK 4. The coupé was soon sold to Albert Perrot, a test driver for Delahaye, and then to Delahaye race car driver Eugène Chaboud in 1938. During these years, it was driven in sev- eral minor events, such as the 1936 Coupe d’Automne, the 1938 Paris-Nice Rally, and the 1938 12 Hours of Montlhéry.
After World War II, Chassis 46809 was purchased by Claude Columeau, the owner of a small restoration shop. He took the car apart but never got much further. Many years later, in June 2000, French restorer Roger Tainguy found and bought it, still in its disassembled state. Because Mr. Tainguy wished to sell the car, he needed to determine its provenance—Figoni’s build number was known, but its chassis number was unconfirmed. He contacted André Vaucourt, who in turn consulted Claude Figoni, who confirmed that build number 556 corre- sponded to Chassis 46809. Mr. Vaucourt went to Mr. Tainguy’s shop to examine the car; sometime later, he was followed by Xavier Tassel, a board member of the
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