Introduced in Paris in 1935 and produced into the early post-war years, the Delahaye 135 featured a new chassis with a 3.6-liter six-cylinder engine, succeeded the following season by the 135 M with a slightly larger powerplant offering single, dual, or triple carburetors for more horsepower. The model more than held its own in competition, sweeping the top six places at Marseilles in 1936, then in the following years would cement its lasting reputation by taking 2nd overall at Le Mans in 1937 and 1st, 2nd, and 4th the following year. Delahaye 135s also won the Rallye Monte-Carlo in both 1937 and 1939. Roadgoing Delahayes featured the same drivetrain as competition models, wrapped in some of the very finest coachwork crafted in Europe.

The 135 M offered here was bodied by the renowned coachbuilder Henri Chapron as an exceptionally subtle yet elegant design, with the decidedly unsubtle title of Cabriolet Dandy—referring to its more comfortable configuration with a three-position convertible top and four-passenger interior. With its sweeping pontoon-style fenders set off by a bold two-tone livery, including a broad beltline molding, it is the very image of a classic early post-war Delahaye.

Longtime Illinois-based enthusiast Kent Shodeen discovered the 135 M in the mid-1970s in the pages of Hemmings Motor News, offered by an owner in Texas in unrestored condition. It was acquired and stored by Shodeen until the late 1990s, when it was meticulously restored back to its original appearance by Dan McMahon’s International Auto Restoration of Oak Lawn, Illinois. The detailed restoration was featured after completion in a prominent feature article in the November 2006 issue of Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car/i>, in which it was noted that the engine was completely rebuilt (with the induction changed to the hottest variant with triple Weber carburetors) and the Cotal pre-selector gearbox restored by specialist Alan Taylor. Bodywork was restored retaining the original panels and wooden structure wherever possible, with a final finish in Capucin Gray and Marine Blue.

After completion the car won its class at the Meadowbrook Concours d’Elegance in 2006 and was invited to the 2007 Amelia Island Concours. Otherwise, it remained largely quietly preserved within the Shodeen Collection until 2019. Shortly thereafter it was acquired by Ray and Bonnie Kinney, joining a burgeoning stable that would come to see it garaged as one of several significant coachbuilt French grand tourers. It was subsequently well-serviced mechanically and cosmetically improved as necessary in 2020, with invoices included in the history file, and will have been fitted with new interior headliner prior to the auction.

This is a truly beautiful example of one of France’s finest coachbuilt automobiles.