POETRY in Motion

Once desired by stars and statesmen, this elegant 1940s masterpiece was found neglected in a garden. Now it has been restored. Mark Beech writes about a car that is poetry in motion.

The Talbot-Lago Record Sport Coupé de Ville, with unique bodywork by famous coachbuilder Carrosserie d’Automobile Luxe Jacques Saoutchik, caused a sensation when it was first displayed. Its price was some 3 million francs. The French President loved it, and actress Capucine promoted it. Now the 1948 car, with its flowing body gleaming just like it did when it mesmerized the crowds for the first time, is offered by Bonhams at its Quail Lodge sale in August. Remarkably, the car is one of the ultimate ‘barn finds'. It was found just a few years ago, rusting in a garden, and treated to one of the most spectacular restorations seen at auction in years.

Like Bugatti, Talbot-Lago was a French carmaker guided by a gifted Italian. Its work marked the high point of interwar automotive design, with the company producing some of the most elegant Art Deco cars of the 1930s, among them the Talbot Teardrop Coupé, built by Parisian carrosserie Figoni et Falaschi. The present car is as sculptural, yet it is also practical, a French grand routière par excellence.

The car's origins date back to 1934, when Joseph Figoni helped fellow Italian Anthony Lago design a line of factory bodies for Talbot-Lago. The early T26 Record was unveiled in October 1946 at Talbot-Lago's small stand, tucked away behind the vast Peugeot display at the Paris Salon.

The car offered at Quail Lodge in August is the final evolution of these designs. The T26 had fully independent front suspension, four-wheel drum brakes and a pre-selector four-speed Wilson gearbox – greatly superior to the long-throw and slow-shifting boxes of other cars. Most T26s came with a 4.5-liter six-cylinder twin-cam engine, developed during the Second World War, making it one of the most powerful passenger cars of its time.

The model on sale, number 100238, is one of only 35 boasting a faster Grand Sport engine, which featured three Zenith-Stromberg carburetors and an aluminum cylinder head, delivering 190bhp at 4,500rpm. Talbot and other French makers faced stringent post-war government restrictions on manufacturing numbers, but found a cunning solution: coach makers could order a chassis if they already had a customer order for export or if the finished car was intended for the Paris Salon.

They turned to Russian émigré Jacques Saoutchik. A carpenter by trade, he had arrived penniless in Paris in 1899, but was soon building the most exquisite coachwork that money could buy.

With its streamlined light-grey body and deep-blue contrast on the sills, wheels and interior, 100238 was the showstopping star of the Saoutchik stand at the 1950 Paris Salon and deserving winner of Le Grand Prix du Salon. At the event, the car was inspected by President Vincent Auriol, but – perhaps because of its astronomical price –failed to find a buyer. It was exhibited again at the 1951 Concours d’Élégance Automobile à la Cascade du Bois de Boulogne.

The car finally sold in late 1951 to Madame Yvonne Bozdogan-Brawa of Switzerland – and vanished from public view. In 1988, Missouri collector Stephen Cortinovis used a register of owners to track the car to Maryland, where it was owned by James Kurapka. Cortinovis explained “he had purchased the car some 15 to 20 years before on the East Coast. He did not know how it came to the US but believed it had been in Switzerland in the 1950s because a Swiss oil-change ticket was found in the car.”

It was not until 2014, after it had been sold to its current owner by Toby Ross of Ross Classics, that the thoroughly painstaking restoration began. Demand is high for such rolling sculptures as this good-as-new automotive work of art.

August marks one of Bonhams' favorite times of the year due to the amazing sights during Monterey Car Week. With the unique setting of Monterey and Carmel Valley, it's no wonder so many come back year after year to celebrate this motoring spectacle. With a very carefully selected lineup of collector motorcars for this year's Quail Lodge Auction, Bonhams is extremely excited to be back for the 21st year of hosting auctions on the peninsula. With variety being the spice of life, the specially curated list of motorcars comes from all corners of the world, with a broad spectrum of brass, vintage, and modern.

Schedule

• Event: Bonhams Quail Lodge Auction – hosted in conjunction with The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering

• Location: Western lawns at corner of Rancho San Carlos Road and Valley Greens Drive

• Sale Day: Friday, August 24, 10:00am

• Preview Days: Wednesday-Thursday, August 22-23, 9:00am – 6:00pm

Early Highlights

• 1948 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Competizione

• 1929 Bentley 4 ½ Liter Sports Tourer

• 1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Record Sport by Saoutchik

• 1964 Shelby Cobra 289

• 1953 Siata 208S

• 1962 Ferrari 250GT SWB

• Single owner aircooled Porsche collection offered without reserve

Website: bonhams.com/quail E-mail: info.us@bonhams.com