1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Cabriolet (Saoutchik coachwork)

New York furrier who purchased the car after seeing it at the 1949 Paris Salon, with assistance from California dealer Roger Barlow. Kept the car briefly in Beverly Hills before returning it to Barlow for resale.

Radio entrepreneur based in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; first of three buyers during Barlow's two-year sales cycle.

Mechanic from Galion, Ohio, who carried out the body-swap work for Burghard and retained the bare Talbot-Lago chassis afterward until his death.

Vintage racer from Malvern, Pennsylvania, who bought the chassis via a classified advertisement placed by the widowed Mrs. Wiener. Collaborated with Talbot-Lago specialist Tony Carroll to have a period-style racing body fabricated; the car was damaged in a farm fire in 1990 and Sherman died in early 1991.

Leading US Talbot-Lago authority who undertook a decade-long restoration of the chassis and body after Sherman's death, overseeing engine rebuilding, metalwork, and final mechanical preparation before taking delivery of the completed car in 2009.

Retired businessman who had separately acquired the Saoutchik-bodied Cadillac formerly owned by Ritter; second buyer in Barlow's sales sequence.

Bus fleet operator from Mansfield, Ohio; in 1953 commissioned removal of the Saoutchik coachwork and transfer to a Mercury chassis with a Lincoln V-8, leaving the original Talbot-Lago chassis with the coachbuilder.

Anonymous French buyer who acquired the car from Carroll when declining health prompted the sale; identity not recorded in the prose.

Present owner who commissioned Patrick Delâge of Auto Classique Touraine to faithfully recreate the lost Saoutchik coachwork on the original chassis, a project requiring over 10,000 hours of labor.

The Saoutchik body, by this time mounted on a Mercury chassis, was photographed at the event; participation details are not confirmed.

The car, bodied in period racing style, was actively entered in multiple VSCCA events during the late 1980s until a fire at the owner's property in 1990 put it out of action.

The original Saoutchik coachwork was detached from the Talbot-Lago chassis and remounted onto a Mercury chassis equipped with a Lincoln overhead-valve V-8 engine, effectively separating body and chassis.

Carried out on the instruction of owner Walter Burghard.

A period-appropriate racing body was designed and constructed for the bare chassis, styled as a racing customer body that Lago might have supplied circa 1948–1949, completing the car in driveable form.

Project conceived jointly by Jerry Sherman and Tony Carroll; completion date approximate.

The car sustained fire damage at the owner's farm property and was subsequently placed in storage.

Car was not returned to use before the owner's death in early 1991.

The six-cylinder engine was fully rebuilt by a Philadelphia-based specialist as part of the extended post-fire restoration programme.

One element of a multi-part restoration supervised by Tony Carroll spanning more than a decade.

Major chassis structural metalwork, including testing, remedial repair, and fabrication of significant components, was undertaken at Cloverleaf Restorations in Pennsylvania.

Carried out under the direction of Ralph Steinberg as part of the broader post-fire restoration.

A replica period racing body modelled on a Tunesi-style T26 Grand Sport racing body was constructed by coachbuilder Eno DePasquale in New Hampshire.

Part of the same restoration campaign; final mechanical assembly was entrusted to Bugatti mechanic Ben Bragg in Massachusetts.

Final mechanical assembly, setup, and preparation of the restored car was completed by a Bugatti specialist.

Based in Massachusetts; work concluded prior to delivery to Carroll in 2009.

The current owner commissioned Auto Classique Touraine to recreate the original and long-lost Saoutchik cabriolet coachwork on the surviving original chassis, a project requiring over 10,000 hours. Chassis 110120, the sole surviving unrestored Saoutchik Grand Sport Cabriolet, served as a dimensional reference. Historian Peter Larsen reviewed and validated the accuracy of the completed result.

Work directed by Patrick Delâge; project described as completed within the two years prior to the auction.