To connoisseurs of fine coachbuilt automobiles, the Delahaye 135 M is a particularly intriguing proposition: First introduced at the 1935 Paris Salon as the Type 135, the model was continuously upgraded and refined over a lengthy production life that bookended the Second World War. These chassis wore bodywork by the likes of Henri Chapron, Joseph Figoni, Marius Franay, Marcel Pourtout, and Jacques Saoutchik, with many of the finest designs—including this Cabriolet by Chapron—arriving in the twilight years of the coachbuilding trade.

According to the research of Club Delahaye president Jean-Paul Tissot, chassis number 800940 wears an authentic Chapron three-position cabriolet body, being completed in 1948 with unusual features such as semi-recessed headlamps and a more prominent front grille. It was equipped with a Cotal preselector transmission. First registered in September 1948, the Delahaye was sold early in its life to Jean Dubos, a mining engineer residing in Hauts-de-Seine, France.

Notably, as a 135 M, this car was fitted with an uprated 3.5-liter straight-six engine equipped with three carburetors and developing 110 horsepower. With its sport-tuned chassis and powerful motor, the model had proved quite successful in competition, claiming 2nd and 3rd place at the 1936 24 Hours of Spa, 2nd and 3rd place at the 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans, and a 1-2 finish at the 1938 24 Hours of Le Mans. Produced up until Delahaye’s closure in 1954, the Type 135 was built in a quantity of under 3,000 examples, of which far fewer are known to have been completed as 135 M variants.

By July 1985 the Delahaye was owned by a former president of the Bugatti Club, and over the next few years the car reportedly underwent a comprehensive restoration in the Chapron workshop. The 135 M was later acquired by a collector based in Finistère, France, who retained the car until 2013. Since 2023, it has resided in America, joining the collection of the consignor in 2024.

Believed to be one of a handful of 135 M examples completed by Chapron in this long-nose three-position cabriolet body style, this car was inspected circa early 2022 by Jean-Paul Tissot, and he reports it to be a correct example that retains the proper triple-carbureted 135 M engine and its matching-numbers Chapron coachwork. The cabriolet continues to display the benefits of a lifetime of doting care by owners on both sides of the Atlantic, offering future touring or exhibition opportunities, and abounding in the elegant qualities that made Delahaye one of the interwar period’s most celebrated European manufacturers.