Delahaye 135ms Coupé Pourtout

Aerodynamic coupe by coachbuilder Pourtout based on a sporty Delahaye 135MS. This particular car is on display at the 1946 Paris Motor Show.

The streamlined body styling was inspired by Georges Paulin’s pre-war designs. Paulin, who worked for Marcel Pourtout (though he started his career as a dentist), had many special designs attributed to his name, including the 1934 Peugeot ‘Eclipse’ with a retractable steel cabriolet roof, a construction that he patented. In 1940 he joined the British secret service to fight the Nazi regime, but he was arrested and executed. The Delahaye 135MS was launched in 1938 as a special high-end version (MS stands for Modifié Spéciale) of the 135, which was already three years old. The chassis, which was the same as that of the successful Delahaye Le Mans racers, cost 585,000 French francs. The 135MS had a 125 hp, 3.5-litre, triple-carburettor six-cylinder engine and could reach a top speed of 160 km/h. Many famous coachbuilders such as Saoutchik, Chapron, Letourneur et Marchand and Pourtout made the most beautiful bodywork for the 135MS chassis.