2 Year Anniversary/200th Article Special Classic Car: Delage D8-120

On January 17, 2011, I released my first article, First Impression: Bugatti Veyron, on That Guy With The Glasses. After nine First Impressions reviews on That Guy With The Glasses, I created my own website through Blogger. On April 15, 2011, CarJunkie's Car Review was launched. To commemorate the launching of my own site, I created a new series of articles dedicated to classic cars. On April 15, 2011, I posted Classic Car: Ferrari F40 and Classic Car: Lamborghini Countach. In two years, I have done First Drive reviews, Top Gear US reviews, Top Gear UK reviews, Clunker reviews, Auto Countdowns,  my own Car Awards, one Unlocking the Car article, and one Video Game Review. I even did a two part collaboration with the very talented Les for Manic Expression in which we both created a list of the top ten movie cars we would like to own and had the other member and his comments to each pick. To celebrate my two year anniversary and my 200th published article, I have to do something special. The car to be featured on this milestone article has to be special. It has to stand out in a stadium filled with some of the greatest cars of all time. In a car competition that includes the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing and 300SL Roadster, a Duesenberg Model J, a Bugatti Veyron Supersport, a Bugatti Type 40A, a Ferrari 599 GTO, three different editions of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, a Jaguar XJ200, and many other rare and unique cars, this car was named Best in Show at the 2011 Houston Classy Chassis: Concours d'Elegance. This car was on display by the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California. The car to be featured for the milestone article is the French classic car Delage D8-120.

Delage was founded in 1905 by Louis Delage in Levallois-Perret. In 1906, Delage released the Type A, a car powered by a one cylinder engine that can produce either 4.5 hp or 9 hp. In 1935, Delage was acquired by the French car manufacturer Delahaye. In 1953, Delage ceased operations. From 1936 to 139, 66 D8-120s were built. The D8-120 comes in five different body types. The body types are D8-120 S Saoutchik Cabriolet, D8-120 Pourtout Coupe, D8-120 Letourner et Marchand Aerosport Coupe, D8-120 Letourner et Marchand Deltasport Cabriolet, and D8-120 S Pourtout Aero Coupe. All variations of the D8-120 come in rear-wheel drive.

I saw the Delage D8-120 at the 2011 Houston Classy Chassis: Concours d'Elegance. The model on displayed was the D8-120 Letourner et Marchand Aerosport Coupe owned by the Petersen Automotive Museum. The car that attracted the most attention was the Bugatti Veyron Supersport, not the Delage. Yet it was the Delage that won Best in Show. The Delage is beautiful. I love the teardrop body styling. The wheel flares add to the car's beauty. This car has elegant curves going from the front bumper to the rear. 

The D8-120 is available with two different straight 8 engines. The D8-120 Letourner et Marchand Aerosport Coupe, the D8-120 Letourner et Marchand Deltasport Cabriolet, and D8-120 S Pourtout Aero Coupe, and the D8-120 Pourtout Coupe come with a 105 hp 4.3L straight 8 engine. The D8-120 S Saoutchik Cabriolet and D8-120 S Pourtout Aero Coupe come with 120 hp 4.7L straight 8. The D8-120 Letourner et Marchand Aerosport Coupe is the slowest of the five variants with a top speed of 93 mph. This is due to the excessive weight of the unique body design. The other four variants of the D8-120 have a top speed of 99 mph, which is fast by pre-World War II standards. At a 2012 auction, a 1937 Delage D8-120 coupe went for $605,000. The average price for a 1937 Delage D8-120 is $715,000 with the highest sale going at $825,000. A 1936 Delage D8-120 went for $1,705,000 at an auction. These classic French cars do not go cheap. 

The Delage D8-120 has been featured in RPM, An American in Paris, Carmen Jones, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye, Clive James-Postcard from Paris, Le Chateau des Oliviers, and Car Crazy.

Since this is a celebration of my 2 year anniversary/200th article, this cannot just be a Classic Car review. This article is also has an Unlocking the Car section. There are two versions of the Delage D8-120 that are unlockable in L.A. Noire. As you reach a certain rank in the game, you unlock cars. There are 15 cars that become available as you rank up. When you reach rank 3, you unlock 5 cars. When you reach rank 10, you unlock 5 more cars. At rank 15, you unlock the last 5 of the hidden vehicles. Once you unlock a hidden vehicle, it location becomes available on the map as a question mark. Drive to the location and look for a blue garage door that says "Angeles City Security." In this garage, you will find a hidden vehicle. Since this is about the two Delages, that is what I will be focusing on. In Central, the Delage D8-120 can be found. Look for an alley between Beacon Ave. and Union Ave. just north of 8th St. Inside the garage with the blue door is the Delage D8-120. The Delage D8-120 S Pourtout is located in Hollywood. It is found near the corner of Normande Ave. and Lemongrove Ave. Go northwest from this intersection and look behind a house. In the garage with the blue doors in the Delage D8-120 S Pourtout Aero Coupe. That is how to unlock the two Delage D8-120s in L.A. Noire.

The Delage D8-120 is a beautiful car. It has good performance by Pre-World War II standards. The Delage D8-120 that was at the D8-120 is a seven figure car. It is owned by the Petersen Automotive Museum and won Best in Show. That speaks for itself. As for collections, the Delage D8-120 is good for any major classic car collection, classic French car collection, or classic European car collection. There were only 66 Delage D8-120s built so they are very rare and expensive to get hold off. The Delage D8-120 is a very special car and is the only classic car that deserves to be covered for my 2 year anniversary/200th article special. It started with a French car two years ago and now I cover a French car for the 2 year anniversary.


CarJunkie
Photo was taken from www.classychassis.org.

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