1939 Delahaye 135M Grand Luxe Chapron Cabriolet
- Colour
- Rouge Ponceau red with Gris Irizé grey
A Delahaye 135M bodied by Henri Chapron in the rare and costly Grand Luxe specification, one of fewer than twenty known survivors from a production run of approximately forty cars built between 1937 and 1939. Chassis 60139 was ordered as a personal gift by the Second Marquess of Foz for his wife, delivered to Lisbon in 1939 in a distinctive Rouge Ponceau and Gris Irizé colour scheme, and underwent a full frame-off restoration in the 1980s returning it to original colours. Accompanied by its Chapron build sheet and original order correspondence.
Ownership
- —Auction saleSold €331,250 (≈ $364K)
- 1939 →Factory deliveryTristão Guedes de Queiroz, Second Marquess of Foz, and Mariana Brandão de Melo Magalhãesfull documentation
Ordered as a gift from the Marquess to his wife to mark their daughter's birth; delivered via the Lisbon Delahaye dealership. Original Chapron build sheet and correspondence survive in the history file.
- 1971 → 1996Acquisition unknownAntonio Carvalhopartial documentation
Acquired in usable, well-kept condition with a black repaint; commissioned a full frame-off restoration during the 1980s that reinstated the original two-tone colour scheme.
- 1996 →Private saleMichel Poncinpartial documentation
Purchased directly from Carvalho; the car subsequently entered the Sáragga Collection.
- Date unknownAcquisition unknownQueiroz familypartial documentation
Retained by the family after the original recipients; sold sometime in the mid-1950s, by which point the car had been repainted black.
- Date unknownAcquisition unknownSáragga Collectionpartial documentation
Current custodian for the past several years prior to this auction consignment.
Competition
No competition history extracted from the catalogue.
Maintenance & restoration
- —Bodywork
The car was repainted black at some point before 1971, departing from its original Rouge Ponceau and Gris Irizé colour combination.
Timing unknown; the black repaint was already present when Antonio Carvalho acquired the car in 1971.
- —Restoration
A complete frame-off restoration was carried out, returning the bodywork to the original two-tone colour scheme specified at the time of the Chapron commission.
Commissioned by Antonio Carvalho during the 1980s; exact year within the decade not stated.
Are you the owner of this car?
This car's public record is built from its auction and competition history. Register your ownership and privately add your own records to make it a verified Legacy Metrics passport — provenance that backs your car's value at sale and gives your insurer evidence to price against. Roy reviews and verifies every registration personally.