The Delahaye Type 175 was a coachbuilt luxury car produced from 1948 to 1951. It introduced an all-new 4.5-litre six-cylinder engine and chassis with four-wheel independent suspension, and it was sold in three wheelbase lengths as the 175/175S, 178 and 180.
Delahaye 175 at a glance
| Maker | Delahaye, Paris |
|---|---|
| Production | early 1948 – mid 1951 |
| Series | Type 175/175S, Type 178, Type 180 |
| Engine | 4.5-litre overhead-valve straight six |
| Crankshaft | seven main bearings |
| Front suspension | Dubonnet independent, built under licence |
| Rear suspension | independent De Dion |
| Brakes | Lockheed hydraulic, large finned drums |
| Gearbox | four-speed semi-automatic Cotal by MAAG |
| Wheelbases | 2.95 m (175), 3.15 m (178), 3.35 m (180) |
| Drive | left-hand drive only |
| Built | 107 cars in the three-wheelbase series |
| Survivors | 25 recorded by the Club Delahaye |
The Type 180 record was merged into this page; the 180 is described with the other long-wheelbase cars. The article is based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the 175.
History of the Delahaye 175
A car planned for 1939
The 175 was meant to replace the V12 Type 165, and managing director Charles Weiffenbach planned to unveil it at the Paris Salon of October 1939. The show was cancelled without notice because of the impending German invasion. The shareholders had decided on a simpler, practical 4.5-litre engine, one litre larger than the Type 135’s but familiar to Delahaye’s workers, together with a new chassis that was to replace the 134, 135, 138 and 148L by 1940. The war put a stop to that, and the prototype was only presented to the shareholders for production approval in March 1944. The Paris Salon returned in October 1946, and the 135 and 148L had to be reintroduced first to generate cash flow.
A new kind of Delahaye chassis
The 175 had a naturally aspirated 4.5-litre overhead-valve six with seven main bearings instead of four. Its chassis was a semi-monocoque with a stressed steel floor pan welded around the bottom of the passenger compartment, parallel boxed side rails and proportions quite unlike the old 135. The front suspension was a licensed Dubonnet independent system, the rear an independent De Dion arrangement, and the brakes were Lockheed hydraulic units with large, deeply finned drums. A four-speed semi-automatic Cotal gearbox by MAAG was fitted, the car rode on 18-inch wheels, and it was the first Delahaye built exclusively in left-hand drive. The front was drawn by Philippe Charbonneaux, whose narrow, elongated heart-shaped grille with horizontal bars became the post-war Delahaye face; coachbuilders Figoni, Chapron, Saoutchik and Pourtout were allowed some artistic licence with it.
Three wheelbases and the coachbuilders
Build numbers were recorded from early 1948 to mid 1951 and confirm 107 cars in the mechanically related series. Of these, 51 were Type 175 on the short 2.95 m chassis, most of them the optional 175S with three Solex carburettors and chromed Rudge-Whitworth wire wheels. There were 38 Type 178 cars on the 3.15 m wheelbase and 18 Type 180 cars on the long 3.35 m chassis, two of which had the 175S engine and were heavily armoured Chapron limousines for the President and Vice President of France’s Communist Party. Bodies came exclusively from coachbuilders, as Delahaye had no coachbuilding capacity of its own; six pre-production chassis were completed by 1946, five of them numbered 90001, 91001, 91002, 92001 and 92002.
What is left
A fire in Delahaye’s administration and drawing offices in 1953 destroyed most of the model’s files, so little is known about the 175 and its longer sisters. The Club Delahaye has recorded 25 surviving cars out of the 107 built: 12 of the 51 Type 175s, 7 of the 38 Type 178s and 6 of the 18 Type 180s. The large-displacement chassis series was discontinued in 1951, when the 135M was updated into the Type 235.
Design and features
- Semi-monocoque chassis: a stressed floor pan welded to the bottom of the cockpit gave rigidity unknown on the 135.
- Dubonnet front suspension: Delahaye was one of only two makers still using it after the war, with Vauxhall.
- Charbonneaux front: the heart-shaped grille with horizontal bars defined the post-war Delahaye look.
- Coachbuilt only: no two bodies came from the same source; Chapron, Figoni, Saoutchik and Pourtout were the main names.
Delahaye 175 versions
- 175 (1948–1951): 2.95 m wheelbase, 51 built.
- 175S: the optional version, three Solex carburettors and chromed wire wheels, most of the 175 production.
- 178: 3.15 m wheelbase, 38 built.
- 180: 3.35 m wheelbase, 18 built, including two armoured Chapron limousines.
The 175 replaced the V12 Delahaye 165 and shared the range with the Delahaye 135; its last descendant was the Delahaye 235. More cars are in the Delahaye collection.
Video: 1949 Delahaye Type 175 S roadster
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Delahaye 175, English Wikipedia: chassis, engine, wheelbases, production and survivors
