Delage
Louis Delage left the employment of Peugeot to set up on his own in 1905. The first car was a single and the second model a twin. Delage believed in racing for publicity. In 1908 his cars finished 1-2-3 at the GP de Voiturettes at Dieppe, following which orders flowed in. Delage continued to use proprietary engines but started to build his own 4 cylinder engines, and the increase in volume meant another change of address, this time to Courbevoie. Post First world war all models were fitted with 4 wheel Perrot operated brakes, as his Grand Prix cars had been in 1914. Delage now entered the large car market with Types CO (a 4 1/2 litre six later becoming the CO2 with overhead cam which evolved to the 5.3 litre Grand Lux) and DO (3 litre four). The 1920's saw the introduction of the 2.1 litre 4 cylinder DI which was produced in the thousands in various combinations of chassis (DIS and DISS). The D6 was introduced in 1930 and became the mainstay of the company, followed by the opulent 4 litre eight cylinder D8 which came in some 5 chassis lengths, including the shortest introduced in 1932. The 6 and 8 cylinder Delages were redesigned with independent suspension in 1932 (D6-11 and D8-15). Later the 6 cylinder cars incorporated the Delahaye independent suspension system. But the economic upheavals of the depression coupled with some personal factors in Louis Delages life led to the eventual sale of the company to Delahaye in 1935. The Delage D6 carried on in production until 1952.
