Delage D6: the six-cylinder Delage that outlived the company

The Delage D6 was a six-cylinder luxury car produced by the French firm from 1930 to 1940 and again, after the war, from 1946 to 1953. For much of that time it was Delage’s principal model and, after 1946, its only one.

Delage D6 at a glance

The D6-75 record was merged into this page; its version is listed under variants.

History of the Delage D6

1930: a replacement for the DM and DR

The D6 was introduced in 1930 as the successor to the Delage DM, and because it came with a range of six-cylinder engines it also replaced the smaller-engined DR. In 1930 it was one of three Delage models, alongside the lighter six-cylinder DS and the large D8 that had appeared the year before. The original car came on a 3,149 mm or 3,289 mm chassis with a 3,045 cc six rated at 75 hp at 3,600 rpm, which put it in the 17CV French tax band. By the end of production in 1933, 1,160 had been built.

1932–1935: smaller engines and a new suffix system

The D6-11 appeared at the Paris Motor Show in October 1932 and went into production the following spring. Its 2,001 cc six produced 55 hp at 4,000 rpm, and a lowered, short-wheelbase D6-11S was offered with 60 hp at 4,500 rpm; only a few were made. In 1934 came the D6-65 with a 2,678 cc engine of 65 hp on a 3,378 mm chassis. The numbers in the names referred to fiscal or actual horsepower, so each new engine size brought a new suffix. The basic chassis and engine architecture, however, did not change radically from one version to the next.

1935: Delage becomes part of Delahaye

In April 1935 the Courbevoie works, which Delage had occupied since 1910, built its last car and production moved to the Delahaye factory in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. Delage kept separate management for a while but was effectively a Delahaye subsidiary by 1938. The D6 continued through the D6-60, D6-70 and D6-75 of the late 1930s; the last of these, of 1939–1940, gave its name to one of the old records merged into this page.

1946–1953: the post-war D6 3-Litre

Production stopped in 1939 with the war and the requisition of the Delahaye works, then resumed in 1946 as the D6 3-Litre, a 2,984 cc six of 90 hp. The large eight-cylinder Delage was not revived, but the D6-70 carried on in small numbers until Delahaye itself ceased to exist at the end of 1954.

Design and features

• Chassis for coachbuilders: like most French makers, Delage sold rolling chassis, so the D6 appeared as saloons, coupés, cabriolets and roadsters from many Paris workshops.
• One family, many suffixes: the D6-11, D6-65, D6-60, D6-70 and D6-75 were closely related cars with different engine sizes.
• Fiscal horsepower: the numbers in the model names followed the French tax bands, which also fixed each car’s place in the market.
• Long life: twenty-one years separate the first D6 from the last, spanning the collapse of Delage as an independent company.

Delage D6 versions

• D6 (1930–1933): 3,045 cc, 75 hp, two chassis lengths.
• D6-11 and D6-11S (1932–1934): 2,001 cc, 55 hp; the S was lower and shorter.
• D6-65 (1934–1935): 2,678 cc, 65 hp, 3,378 mm chassis.
• D6-60 and D6-70 (1935–1938): built at the Delahaye works after the move to Paris.
• D6-75 (1939–1940): the last pre-war version.
• D6 3-Litre (1946–1953): 2,984 cc, 90 hp; an Olympic version with three carburettors was listed in 1948–1949.

The D6 shared its range with the eight-cylinder Delage D8, and its sportier relative was the D8-120. The first six-cylinder Delage line is described on the Delage DI page. More cars are in the Delage collection.

Sources

• Delage D6, English Wikipedia: chronology, engines, production
• Delage D6, French Wikipedia: model list, post-war versions