Chassis No.
800692
Estimate:
$200,000-$250,000 US
115 bhp, 3,557 cc overhead valve inline six-cylinder engine, Cotal four-speed electric preselector gearbox, independent transverse leaf spring front suspension, live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs and four-wheel cable-operated mechanical drum brakes. Wheelbase: 116.1"
Launched at the 1935 Paris Salon, the Type 135 would prove to be Delahaye’s mainstay for the rest of its lifetime. Historian David Burgess-Wise describes it as “the keystone of the survival plan which Delahaye, one of France’s oldest car manufacturers, had drawn up to cope with the crisis-hit Thirties.” In fact, it survived into the Forties and Fifties.
The 135 featured a new chassis, designed by engineer Jean-François, with welded box-section side members and pressed cross members welded to a ribbed floor. The engine was a 3,557 cc ohv six, as used in the earlier Type 138, from which the transverse leaf spring independent front suspension was also carried over.