Talbot Lago

By Norm Mort

The foundation on which the formation of Talbot-Lago was created actually dates back to the nineteenth century intertwined in the history of numerous firms on both sides of the English Channel.

DARRACQ - The story first begins with the Alexandre Darracq commercial empire based on cycles, electric carriages and automobiles. Following its liquidation the former Darracq automobile works at Suresnes, a suburb of Paris, was retained and continued to build a small number of quality vehicles mostly for the French market. Alexandre Darracq et Cie (1905) Ltd. was now under the ownership of Clement-Talbot of England. The cars were now known as Talbot –pronounced Tal-beau, or Talbot-Darracq. Although only exported to England in small numbers, the situation became more confusing as those vehicles crossing the channel were re-badged simply as Darracq. This name the British already associated with the original firm and thus, would also avoid any confusion – if that was at all possible, with the very different English-built cars known as Talbot – pronounced Tal-bought that the company built in England.

By 1920, Darracq, joined British Sunbeam and Talbot to form Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq, or STD. Throughout the 1920s in France, Darracq were very successful in competing in the four-cylinder, 1.5-litre class, yet these small cars were later abandoned in order to concentrate on six and eight cylinder cars. The evolving 4-litre, straight eights of the 1930s proved to be reliable and provided good performance and would provide a basis for Tony Lagos’s cars.

CLEMENT AND CLEMENT-BAYARD - Adolphe Clement had founded his automobile firm in 1899 in France after having accumulated a fortune making bicycles and pneumatic tires. The first cars he built were known as the Clement and Clement-Gladiator. His first taste of competition was a second place finish in the 1900 Paris-Rouen-Paris race.

In 1903, Clement left his company and gave-up the rights to call any automobiles he would build in the future under those names. Chevalier Bayard had saved the town of Mezieres from invasion in 1521 and was so admired by Clement that the Bayard name was added to his cars, and ultimately he legally changed his surname to Clement-Bayard.

Clement-Bayard automobiles were imported into England by the British Automobile Commercial Syndicate financed by the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot. A factory was established to assemble the cars in London, and hence the name Clement-Talbot evolved.

Following WW1, the firm ceased importing these cars; Clement-Bayard was eventually taken over by Citroen, but before that happened Bayard Cars who had handled the importation following the war, transferred the importation rights back to Clement-Talbot. By this time Clement-Bayard importation consisted only of selling spare parts.

BRITISH TALBOT - Meanwhile, as early as 1906 the first British designed and built Talbot had been introduced. These models were sold alongside of the French versions. The British Clement-Talbots under the engineering genius of Georges Roesch were successful at Le Mans, Brooklands, numerous Tourist Trophy and grand prix events. Despite these successes in the racing world the STD conglomeration was in financial trouble throughout this period and on the verge of collapse in the early 1930s.

SUNBEAM - The Sunbeam Motor Company, Ltd. Wolverhampton, England was established in 1899 by John Marston who had made his fortune in tinplate, japanware and bicycles. When Louis Coatalen joined Sunbeam in 1909 the British firm became a dominating force in racing that include capturing five World Land Speed Records from 1925-27. Despite this success, continual financial difficulties had led to the formation of STD back in 1920.

SUNBEAM-TALBOT-DARRACQ - In 1920 following the formation of STD, Sunbeam’s Louis Coatalen remained the director and immediately set about building a new Sunbeam racing design. By 1921 STD was competing with 3-litre straight eight-powered racing cars in that year’s Indianapolis 500. Two cars were entered as Sunbeams and one as a Talbot-Darracq, but all three were identical except for the radiator badges. One of the Sunbeams finished 5th. Later at the French Grand Prix at Le Mans three Talbot-Darracqs, two Sunbeams and two Talbots would be entered – all identical.

In that year’s Voiturette Grand Prix on the old Le Mans circuit, the new STD, 1-1/2-litre-powered Darracq won. These 4-cylinder cars; arrived at by simply halving the 3-litre eight, went on to dominate voiturette class for the next six years. At the time of the STD collapse in 1935, Suresnes was building both the six and eight cylinder powered Talbot and Talbot-Darracq cars.

Thus, the blending of these three great marques in automotive history –Sunbeam, Talbot and Darracq, ultimately became the foundation of one of France’s most prestigious and successful competition cars commencing in the midst of the mid-1930s Depression –Talbot-Lago.

MAJOR ANTHONY “TONY” LAGO AND TALBOT-LAGO - Anthony “Tony” Lago –like his racing rival Ettore Bugatti, was born in Italy, but became a name synonymous with the French motor industry. Born in Venice in 1893, he was educated at the Turin School of Engineering. Known by most as Major, as it was the rank he achieved in the Italian army reserve during World War I. Following the Great War he would venture to France where he would spend most of his life. It is important to note, that although he adopted France as his home, he never forgot his Italian roots and later in his life he was the president of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Paris. He also stipulated in his will that upon his death he should be buried in his native land.

Initially, Lago became associated with the first great Italian marque, Isotta-Fraschini, which eventually led him to London where he became a very successful agent selling Isotta-Franschini. In 1923 he joined L.A.P. Engineering in London as a technical director that specialized in OHV conversions. In 1925 Lago took a similar position with the Wilson Company where he assisted in perfecting the Wilson self-changing, or pre-selector gearbox.

By 1927, Lago had become associated with the prestigious British aircraft-based automobile firm known as Armstrong-Siddeley that used the Wilson gearbox in their cars. He also successfully acquired the foreign selling rights to the Wilson gearbox, from Sir John Siddeley. These were important times in Tony Lago’s life as he would later fit the Wilson Pre-Selector gearboxes in the cars bearing his name. By 1932, Tony Lago’s fascination with racing led to his position on the Armstrong-Siddeley works team and competing in the 1932 Alpine Trials.

Later that year, he joined the struggling STD firm, now on the brink of financial collapse in both England and France, as an Assistant Director. Lago was sent to the Suresnes factory in France to assist in a last gasp re-organization. Strange as it may seem, apparently the British side of the company had little involvement with its French sibling, apart from having the balance sheets forwarded each year.

Upon the collapse of STD and its acquisition by the Rootes brothers in England, the French arm was purchased by Lago who immediately decided on a policy of concentrating on luxurious cars of high performance and modern design that could be adapted for serious competition. Over the years the cars would be known as Talbots, Talbot-Lagos and Lago-Talbots. He soon introduced; along with the help of engineer Walter Brecchia, a new line of OHV six-cylinder cars based on the excellent Type K78 three-liter engine.

Although the 2.7-liter 15CV and 3.0-liter 17CV models were pleasant tourers, it was not until Tony Lago built the 4-liter 23CV on an X-frame with IFS and a solid rear axle, that the firm was rocketed to the forefront of the French automobile industry. The 7-bearing crank, 6-cylinder was rated at 165 bhp @ 4200rpm in twin Solex carburetor form and featured cross-push-rod valve gear and a hemispherical head to allow for comfortable 100mph cruising.

Grand Prix racing star Rene Dreyfus joined Talbot-Lago as the manager of the firm’s new Formula Sport racing team in 1936 and proved that the Talbot-Lagos were fast, but not as reliable as they should be. Dreyfus left at the end of the 1936 racing season to pursue other avenues. In 1937; with a year’s experience and development, came a lengthy succession of racing victories, including a 1-2-3 finish in the French Sports Car Grand Prix at Montlhery and a win at Tourist Trophy races at Donnington Park. A Talbot-Lago would also capture a first place in the 1938 Monte Carlo Rally.

In international Grand Prix racing in the late 1930s the Talbot-Lago racing cars were unable to successfully compete against the omnipotent German Mercedes-Benz and Auto-Union teams. Yet, following World War II and as late as 1951, Talbot-Lagos were again at the forefront of Grand Prix racing, as well as being victorious at Le Mans in 1950. Unfortunately, the success was short-lived due to poor economic times and the crippling restrictions placed on larger cars by the post-war French government which ultimately resulted in the disappearance of all of France’s prestige marques. By 1959 Simca had taken over Talbot-Lago. Ironically, Chrysler would eventually purchase Simca, along with Rootes in 1965, to once again bring the STD companies together.

THE 1937 TALBOT-LAGO 150-C SS - The Talbot-Lago 150-C SS was a very fast car that rivaled Bugatti, as Rene Dreyfus once confessed to me in an interview. In his autobiography “My Two Lives,” he describes in detail competing in a 150 with the Wilson gearbox that Tony Lago had helped initially design over a decade before. “It wasn’t a hard car to drive once you figured out how to handle the Wilson gearbox. In the Wilson, you pre-selected the gear on the steering-column-mounted lever, which was fine, but then you had to remember to depress the clutch pedal (which took a strong effort) at the moment you wished to make the change of gear to occur. You might forget and, if you did, you made a mess of things.”

ABOUT THIS 1937 TALBOT-LAGO 150-C SS FIGONI ET FALASCHI COMPETITION SPORTS ROADSTER - Just prior to the Talbot-Lago victory at the French Grand Prix a very special 140bhp, T150-C SS was delivered to Monsieur B. Alsan-Finlay of Paris. This Talbot-Lago was capable of speeds of over 120mph, featured a factory shortened chassis –one of just thirty built- and measuring only 2.65 meters in length. The “C” stood for a two-seater, competition model, while also having the two-seater touring model, SS designation. The dual classification for chassis #82928 signified this car was a competition model built for road use. It contained the “C” features, such as a large capacity oil pan, punched handbrake lever, a dual braking system, a higher compression ratio and a different pedal configuration normally found only on Competition versions.

The stylish roadster coachwork was crafted by the celebrated Figoni and Falaschi carosserie in Paris. It was only one of two Talbot-Lago models with shortened chassis’ to ever be fitted with coachwork from this prestigious French firm. The lines were conceived by the firm’s prominent designer Andreau, highlighted by cycle fenders in the front that were sculptured into a smooth pontoon shape, while the rear flowed into an uncluttered, round, tapered tail treatment characteristic of the sport and racing versions the firm was legendary for, at this time.

Further important racing trademarks included a fold-down windscreen, cut-down doors, leather hood strap, and competition lights integrated into a rakish and sporty front end. So acclaimed was its style, this roadster was featured at the Paris Salon in 1937. The roadster, along with other rakishly bodied Talbot-Lago cars on display would result in the marque being dubbed the “car that beguiles.”

Upon taking delivery of his new Talbot-Lago, Alsan-Finlay wrote to congratulate Figoni and Falaschi. “I find the body that you put on my Talbot is a real work of art. Your work will have no problems from admirers and car aficionados and I hope that this style of body will bring you success in the future.”

Of the two cars receiving this coachwork only #82928 retains its original Figoni and Falaschi coachwork. The other car was modified for racing and its body later placed on a 4.5-litre chassis. One of the most original Talbot-Lago short-chassis cars, this example may very well have competed in the French Grand Prix in 1937.

Although the early chassis records are incomplete, correspondence from Alsan-Finlay to Figoni dated May 18, 1937 state, “Chinetti will pick it up one of these days to try it at Montlhery. I told him to go by the Talbot factory. I am certain that they would be happy to see a car so well done and proportioned.”

This beautiful Talbot-Lago continues to beguile to this day. James A. Patterson of Louisville, Kentucky; the roadster’s current owner, won Best in Class K - Prewar European Sport and Racing in 2002 at Pebble Beach.