The Automotive Dream “One man and his dream had not simply left the world with an engine and four wheels; Henry Ford and his Model T had influenced people's everyday lives - where they lived, how they spent their leisure time, even how they viewed themselves.” - Gary...
Louis Delage
Written by Irina
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Doing Things Well
“This is the man who created some of the most exotic Gallic creations to ever turn a wheel, hugely successful from the dualities of aesthetics and performance.” – Jim Donnelli for Hemmings
Louis Delage is a fascinating character. In automobile history, he ranks amongst names like E. L. Cord and Sir William Lyons in terms of how intertwined his vision was with the actual cars being produced. For three decades, Louis Delage was at the helm of the Delage brand. Many commentators have remarked that every Delage car made in that period was a personal reflection of Louis. Like all humans, he was also a flawed individual and some of his mistakes may have contributed to the downfall of his company. Keep reading to learn more about this interesting character that has shaped the French luxury car market like few others.
Life Before Automobiles
Louis was born in Cognac, France, in 1874. His family was what we would today call middle class. His father was a railway sub-station master. Louis pursued engineering studies at the École des Arts et Métier and graduated in 1893. He then accomplished his military service in Algeria. Once back in France, he followed his father’s advice and became a locomotive engineer. Itching to be his own boss, blessed by a creative spirit and fascinated by the new invention that was the automobile at the time, Louis moved to Paris in 1900 where he set up shop as a consulting engineer at the service of the automotive field. In 1903, Peogeot, then a young car manufacturer, hired him as chief draftsman and tester. He didn’t stay in this role very long. After two years, Delage felt confident enough to strike out on his own again.
Brand Inception
In 1905, Louis found financial backing and created Delage & Co. At the age of 31, the confidence to strike out on his own paid off, and the Maison Delage was to be a success. One of his first hires, Augustin Legros, was a talented engineer that Louis poached from Renault. Legros remained with the company as long as Louis did. Eventually, Legros was the one responsible for the entire production activity of the business.
Delage production had humble beginnings, I have seen their first shop described as a “rickety wooden barn.” For the 1905 Salon de l’Automobile de Paris, the firm produced two prototypes using De Dion single-cylinder engines with capacities of 1059 cc and 496 cc respectively. These were judged either too big or too small. Delage quickly made a 697 cc version before the end of the Salon. This new car seemed to hit the mark. Charles Faroux, who was considered the most important motoring journalist at the time, wrote a favorable article in the “Echo des Sports” legitimizing the new manufacturer. Orders as well as a well-appreciated loan came in. Based on the third prototype presented at the Salon, Delage’s first production car was a runabout that used a De Dion single-cylinder engine.
A Note on Racing
Today, we know Delage cars for their splendour and consider them as some of the best French Classic Cars. However, Delage has also made a name for itself in the world of racing. Louis Delage believed in the publicity value of motor racing. While their workshop was furiously trying to fill orders, Louis also insisted on investing in racing and participated in motoring events virtually from the inception of the brand. Their first big win was at the Grand Prix des Voiturettes in Dieppe in 1908, where they placed in first position. This challenge tested the endurance of the cars and “Voiturette” described the category of light cars. Racing secured more interest in the brand as much from the side of car dealers as from more financial backers.
In 1914, Delage broke the world speed record reaching 230 km/h or about 143 mph and won their first Indianapolis 500. Their last great win was the title of World Champion at the 1927 Grand Prix, after which Delage retired from racing.
A Recipe for Success
Delage’s main focus was innovation and performance. These qualities fuelled their creation of light cars. Quickly, they offered multi-cylinder-engine designs. By 1912, the business employed over 350 employees and sold over a thousand cars that year. Apart from the quality of its engineering and performance of its vehicles, the brand’s racing pedigree is also credited with the success of the brand.
Eventually, Delage started to make more and more luxurious cars. These magnificent and performant vehicles made Delage one of the most well-respected brands in automotive history. Delage cars were extravagant and flamboyant. Competing in the high-end market with brands like Hispano-Suiza and Rolls-Royce, Delage had its own niche. While the others made conservative vehicles, Delage made more daring designs that appealed to a wealthy youth.
The brand and Louis Delage progressively prospered until the outbreak of the First World War. During this troubled period, Louis became extremely wealthy by securing contracts from the Allied Expeditionary Forces. Once Louis came into money, he lived a lavish lifestyle akin to the one of his rich buyers and the people he surrounded himself with. At his height, he owned a chateau, a villa, a townhouse and a yacht. In 1923, the Delage company went public, which increased its value 25 times.
Like other influential figureheads of successful car brands, Louis maintained a firm grip on the company’s business. Unlike other production cars, Delage made most of their components in-house. Louis also had great taste and the glamorous cars the brand made reflected it. He saw automobiles as things of beauty, art objects, and accordingly, the best coachbuilders of the period worked on them. In his book “Classic Cars,” Rob L. Wagner describes these coaches as having “refined elegance and occasional excess.” Delage cars were a reflection of Louis Delage’s persona.
A Recipe for Disaster
Louis Delage had many qualities and a great sense of vision that allowed him to accomplish success in his lifetime, but he was also a flawed man. Some believe that his flaws contributed to the fall of the brand. One of his weaknesses was the apparent obsession with competing with Hispano-Suiza. As the Delage business grew, they purchased facilities in Courbevoie right across from where his rival made its cars. Although the property was purchased in 1912, this perceived competition persisted throughout the years. Delage introduced the Grand Luxe model meant to be the must of luxury, a supercar. Although the car was spectacular, only about 200 were made, not enough to recoup their investment and was overall considered a bad business decision for the brand.
Another weakness of Louis was his womanizing. His “love of women” influenced the design of his cars by giving them feminine elegance, purity of lines and comfort. In The Encyclopedia of Classic Cars, it is reported that there was a popular saying claiming that “One drives, of course, an Alfa Romeo, one is driven in a Rolls-Royce, but one gives only a Delage to one’s favourite mistress.” But his tendencies also cost him his marriage. A litigious divorce further exacerbated his personal and Delage’s financial difficulties. When Louis found a buyer willing to take over the ailing company in 1933, it is said that it was his soon-to-be ex-wife that put an end to the transaction that could have saved the brand.
Although racing gave them great exposure, it was also a financial drain. Louis is the one who pushed Delage to invest in the sport. When they won the World Championship title in 1927, it cost them almost a quarter of a million dollars. Their decision to retire from racing on a high note might have been a necessity more than a decision.
Following receivership in 1935, Delage was eventually forcibly merged with Delahaye. Unhappy to lose his control of the company, Louis retired. Having lost his company and his wife, he found solace in religion. He completed pilgrimages and wrote about them. He died in poverty in 1947 having lost all that he had managed to build.
What now?
While Delage was independent, their last great creation was the D8, a car that was finally capable of competing with Hispano-Suiza. Unfortunately, it came at the wrong time. The company and the economy were struggling. To learn more about this particular model, don’t miss next week’s article where we will discuss a Delage D8 in the Demers Car Collection.
