1936 Delahaye Type 135 Special

Delahaye had an enviable competition record, though most successes came either when the Germans didn’t show up or when they broke

by Donald Osborne

Emile Delahaye built his first automobile in 1895 and in 1896 drove one of his cars to sixth place in the Paris-Marseilles-Paris race. Sporting ambition lurked in the background as his truck business was crippled by a glut of WWI surplus U.S. trucks.

Delahaye hung on, aided by a marriage of convenience with Chenard et Walcker and F.A.R. Tractor, until the 1930s when Ettore Bugatti urged him to rediscover his performance image.

The vehicle for Delahaye’s new direction was the Superluxe and its sports sibling, the Delahaye Type 135. The Type 135 engine was an OHV six with a cross-flow head and four main-bearing crank. It proved to be one of the most durable engines in racing history.

Delahaye’s sporting history in the 1930s is embodied by Laury and Lucy O’Reilly Schell. Lucy was the only child of an Irish-American millionaire who met Laury Schell in France. The two cut a swath through French society and the racing community.

Their team,...