Talbot-lago T26 GP car
TIPPED BY: PIERRE NOVIKOFF
‘It’s becoming the time when these pieces of art will change hands,’ says Pierre. ‘Many of the owners are hitting their Eighties and Nineties and won’t be with us forever. But the interest in the cars remains, because the events that need these cars on the grid are so attractive – Monaco Historique, Goodwood, many others.’
We’re right at the birth of Formula One here. A set of rules agreed in 1946 governed how cars entered for the World Championship would be specified. Non-supercharged cars would run 4.5-litre engines; supercharged cars would be restricted to 1.5-litres, such was the potency of these designs. Talbot’s muscular straight six suited the unsupercharged formula and under the control of Italian entrepreneur-engineer Antonio Lago, the marque went racing, debuting in 1948. Grand Prix wins in Belgium and France followed, plus a famous victory at Le Mans in 1950. Being easier to care for and more economical (9mpg vs 3mpg!) than a supercharged Alfa or Maserati, the
T26 was popular with privateers. Pierre Novikoff reckons some 20-odd survive today, ‘It’s not so expensive for what it is, maybe £1m to £1.2m. And you have to compare that with the other cars on track, like the 4.5-litre Ferrari 375 or an Alfetta 158 or 159… these cars are priceless. But the history is key, so if there’s a real connection with names like Philippe Etancelin or Louis Rosier, then the interest and the price is higher. But all of these cars have interesting stories because the people who bought them and raced them in those first Formula One races often had incredible lives.’
Actually finding one is best achieved by a quiet word with a few dealers and auction houses who can show a history of tracking down early GP cars. The search will be Europe-wide, if not worldwide, but, well... just look at it. What an extraordinary thing to own.