Gallic Classic

The 1939 Talbot-Lago T150C SS Aerocoupe is a very rare and expensive example of the beauty of pre-war French cars

by Miles Collier

There were four Talbot-Lago T150C SSs made with Pourtout Aerocoupe bodies. Two are in private collections, and there are shadowy rumors of another in pieces, although no one has seen so much as a picture. The last is offered here, with exceptional provenance. Begun as war clouds gathered in 1939, it was not seen complete until the late 1940s.

It was built to plans drawn by legendary designer Georges Paulin, and assembled by one of France's premier coachbuilders. After the war, the Talbot was owned by a wealthy gentleman driver who drove it to many victories on the road courses of France. It remains in original condition, showing the makeshift field modifications that racing sometimes demands.

By the early 1930s, Anthony Lago had negotiated the rights to the Wilson preselector gearbox, a breakthrough invention that allowed one to select a gear with a lever in advance of its need—the gear would not engage until the clutch was operated.

In the course of trying to find a factory in France in 1933, Lago entered into discussions with Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq. Lago made a deal with the British parent whereby he would be paid a salary to turn the French side of the company around and share in any profits.

After staving off bankruptcy, it all came right in 1937, with a new, lightweight T150C. The lightweight and the preceding 4-liter racked up successes at Marseilles, where they finished 1-2-3-5, Tunisia, Montlhèry (1-2-3) and the British Tourist Trophy.

In the midst of this, Tony Lago introduced his masterpiece in August at the Paris-Nice Criterium de Tourisme. It was a touring version of the open T150C that he had been racing. Designated the T150C SS, it had a 4-liter, 6-cylinder overhead-valve engine with triple Zenith-Stromberg carburetors. Output was 140 horsepower, allowing the car to cruise the poplar-lined autoroutes at nearly 100 mph.

The body was a stunning coupe by Paris coachbuilder Figoni et Falaschi, nicknamed the Goutte d'Eau. The literal translation is drop of water, but in English, the design is usually referred to as a teardrop.

Less than 30 T150C SSs were made, and today they are in the car collector's pantheon. The majority were bodied by Figoni et Falaschi, but a series of four Pourtout Aerocoupés was also completed.

The car offered here, Talbot-Lago T150C SS 90120, was owned by the wealthy amateur sportsman Pierre Boncompagni, who used the nom de course, "Pagnibon." In 1950 and 1951, racing the Talbot under the flag of Ecurie Nice, he won overall or in his class at such evocative venues as Nice, Orléans, the Circuit de Bressuire, Agen, and the Mount Ventoux Hillclimb, a 13-mile uphill dash. After adding his pages to Talbot's racing history, Boncompagni died behind the wheel of a Ferrari at a race in Hyères in 1953.

This car sold for $4,847,000 at the Bonhams & Butterfields Quail Lodge sale in Carmel Valley, California, on August 15, 2008.

The growing awareness of the importance and charm of untouched cars has resulted in the acquisition of unrestored cars by more and more sophisticated collectors. Indeed, I believe it is fair to say that this Talbot will be joining a wonderful collection of cars as that collector's first unrestored vehicle.

As such, it took a bit of study and commitment to make that first plunge. Not everyone wants the concatenation of patina and constraints attendant to owning such a car. And make no mistake; unrestored cars are very different in the benefits they offer, as well as the restrictions their fragile originality demands.

Unrestored cars present complex issues

First, these objects present much more complex issues to their owners with respect to conservation and the level of intervention that is appropriate when compared to the "tear it apart and make it perfect" ideology that so many complete restorations involve. Further, while unrestored cars can be restored to good, usable operating condition without visible intervention, they can't be used with the confident abandon that a complete remanufacture confers.