The Talbot T120 was a luxury car produced from 1936 to 1939 by the Anglo-French Talbot company. It used the chassis and mechanical parts of the contemporary Talbot Baby 17 CV but sat a step higher in standing and elegance, with bodies built to order by specialist coachbuilders.
Talbot T120 at a glance
| Maker | Talbot, Suresnes, France |
|---|---|
| Production | 1936–1939 |
| Class | luxury car |
| Chassis and mechanics | from the Talbot Baby 17 CV |
| Engine | 2,996 cc six-cylinder |
| Power | 90 hp |
| Top speed | 130 km/h |
| Bodies | coachbuilt to order by specialist houses |
| Coachbuilder | Figoni & Falaschi among others |
There is no English page for the T120; the model is described in a short French article, with company background from the English Talbot-Lago page.
History of the Talbot T120
The T120 appeared in 1936, in the first years of Anthony Lago’s ownership of the French Talbot business. Lago had bought the French part of the collapsed Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq group in 1935, and his company, Automobiles Talbot-Darracq SA, was generally known as Talbot-Lago; on the French market the cars kept the Talbot name and the badge used since 1922.
The T120 borrowed the chassis and mechanical parts of the Talbot Baby 17 CV, the six-cylinder grand tourer of the same period, but was positioned a rank higher in standing and elegance. As with other Talbot-Lago models, the bodies were made to measure for each customer by specialist coachbuilders. Some T120s, in particular, received bodies from Figoni & Falaschi, a house that in the second half of the 1930s developed a flamboyant style that pushed aerodynamics to excess.
The car was powered by a 2,996 cc six-cylinder engine developing a maximum of 90 hp and reaching a top speed of 130 km/h. Production ran from 1936 to 1939, after which the war ended civilian car making at Suresnes. The T120 was one of the models through which Lago rebuilt the Talbot range around six-cylinder sporting cars, alongside the Baby and the larger Cadette and Major.
Design and features
- Baby-based chassis: the mechanical foundation of the six-cylinder Baby 17 CV.
- Higher standing: more luxurious and elegant than the Baby it was derived from.
- Coachbuilt bodies: individual bodies by houses such as Figoni & Falaschi.
- Six-cylinder power: 2,996 cc, 90 hp and 130 km/h.
Talbot T120 versions
- T120: the standard luxury model with coachbuilt bodies.
- Figoni & Falaschi bodies: the flamboyant aerodynamic style of the late 1930s.
The T120 shared its chassis with the Talbot Baby, and the post-war six-cylinder car was the Talbot-Lago T26. More cars are in the Talbot collection.
Sources
- Talbot T120, French Wikipedia: chassis, engine, coachbuilders, production years
- Talbot-Lago, English Wikipedia: company background
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