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2020 Shannons Melbourne Autumn Classic Auction
Lot
70

1928 Delage DMS Sport Tourer

$90,000

Sold

Specifications

Engine 3182cc six-cylinder
Gearbox Four-speed manual
Body Work Sports Tourer
Colour Blue/black guards
Interior Tan
Trim Leather
Wheels Wire-spoked
Brakes Drums/drums

Description

This lot is no longer available

Delage is a French car maker founded in 1905 by Louis Delage in Levallois-Perret, near Paris. Delage initially produced parts for Helbé, which was utilising a De Dion-Bouton engine and chassis. Delage added only the body. Initially, the company had just two lathes and three employees, one of them Peugeot's former chief designer. Its first model was the Type A, a voiturette, which appeared in 1906 powered by a one-cylinder De Dion-Bouton engine. Delage converted to four-cylinder engines in 1909, at first provided by De Dion and Edouard Ballot but shortly thereafter the company were producing its own sidevalve four-cylinder engine. The 1920s were the first "Golden Age" of Delage and its famous DE and DI models with their 2 litre 4-cylinder engines. Delage also attempted to compete with Hispano-Suiza, with its 5954 cc GL with some success. After that came a new generation of six-cylinder cars, like the MD (3174 cc) and DR (2516 cc), the best-selling vehicle in the history of the brand. In 1926, Delage introduced the DM with its a 3182 cc six cylinder, which made it emblematic of the era for the marque. The high-performance DMS (as here) had a hotter cam, twin valve springs, and other improvements. Only some 340 examples of the DMS model were produced between 1926-29, and today it is thought that only some 10 remaining examples have survived worldwide.