1950 Delahaye 135 MS Cabriolet (Saoutchik coachwork)
- Engine
- Triple-carburettor configuration, highest-output variant in the 135 touring range
- Colour
- Burgundy
A 1950 Delahaye 135 MS Cabriolet, chassis 801610, bodied by Parisian coachbuilder Saoutchik as a bespoke four-seat cabriolet with Borrani wheels and pre-selector gearbox. Commissioned by prominent French-car enthusiast Albert Prost — the first collector car he ever acquired — it was displayed at the Concours d'Élégance in Enghien-les-Bains shortly after completion, presented by actress Junie Astor. The car later appeared in the 1959 film 'The Scapegoat' and remained closely associated with the Prost family for much of the twentieth century.
Ownership
- —Auction saleSold €410,000 (≈ $451K)
- 1950 → 1955Factory deliveryAlbert Prostpartial documentation
Purchased new via a Paris dealership; took delivery of a rolling chassis and commissioned bespoke cabriolet bodywork from Parisian coachbuilder Saoutchik. This was his first collector car acquisition.
- 1955 →Private saleGarage le Maraispartial documentation
Acquired from Albert Prost; precise duration of ownership unknown, as Prost later rediscovered the car elsewhere in France.
- → 1980Acquisition unknownUnidentified French ownernone documentation
Car passed through at least one additional custodian before Prost encountered it again somewhere in France circa 1980.
- 1980 → 2002Private saleAlbert Prostfull documentation
Reacquired after locating the car back in France; workshop invoices from the early 1980s document recommissioning work. Prost retained the car until his death in 2002.
- 2002 → 2014InheritanceProst familypartial documentation
Retained by the family following Albert Prost's passing; period photographs of the family with the car form part of the history file.
- 2014 →Private saleMr. Guikaspartial documentation
Acquired from the Prost family; at the time of purchase the car wore its current burgundy exterior with cognac interior, together with matched luggage and a matching spare wheel.
Competition
- 1950-06-17Concours d'Elegance, Enghien-les-Bains
Car was presented in its original white finish with burgundy interior by actress Junie Astor, shortly before its first registration.
Maintenance & restoration
- —MaintenanceSaoutchik
Custom coachwork executed by Saoutchik on a rolling chassis, producing a bespoke four-seat cabriolet fitted with Borrani wheels and a four-speed pre-selector gearbox.
Completed prior to the Enghien-les-Bains Concours d'Élégance in June 1950.
- —Service
A programme of recommissioning work was carried out in the early 1980s to return the car to sound running order after Albert Prost reacquired it; workshop invoices from this period are retained in the history file.
Dates inferred as early 1980s from the prose; exact year not specified.
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