Delaunay-Belleville
Automobiles Delaunay-Belleville was a French luxury
History
Julien Belleville had been a maker of marine boilers from around 1850. Louis Delaunay joined the firm in 1867 and married Belleville's daughter. He changed his name to Delaunay-Belleville and succeeded his father-in-law in charge of the company.[2]
S.A. des Automobiles Delaunay-Belleville was formed in 1903 by Louis Delaunay and
The company started with three models, all
Delaunay-Belleville were a prestige
The first French car maker to offer a
Like most prestige marques, the cars were sold as bare
Postwar, Continental bodies gained popularity, at least in Britain, as Belgium's
In 1919, the company offered the P4, a 2 litre sidevalve 10 hp four-cylinder, undoubtedly the most expensive voiturette on the market, as well as a 2.6 litre OHC 15.9 hp four, the P4B, in 1922.[8]
After Barbarou resigned, Delaunay-Belleville quality began to slip.
By the late 1920s, Delaunay-Belleville had lost its prestige, and converted to truck and military vehicle production. In 1936 the previously separate car company was merged with the Delaunay-Belleville parent. Production of the Delaunay-Belleville RI-6 continued through the late 1930s and was revived after the Second World War. This was a six-cylinder-engined car strongly resembling[8] the Mercedes-Benz 230, featuring independent suspension all-round; revived postwar, it featured Cotal preselector gearbox[8] and a front grille design apparently copied from the 1939 Buick.[10] However, the business was in decline: anyone buying a RI-6 in the 1940s would have done so in the knowledge after-sales service might disappear soon.[10] Six cars were completed in 1947 and only four during the first part of 1948.[10]
The company continued to advertise new cars for sale until 1950, but the factory was sold to Robert de Rovin in 1948 and thereafter used to make cyclecars.[8][10]
See also
References
- ^ "Bonhams : 1911 Delaunay-Belleville HB4 Tourer Chassis no. 3783". www.bonhams.com. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ^ "Stamina Status and Style". The Automobile. 26: 43–47. June 2008.
- ^ Wise, David Burgess. "Delaunay-Belleville: The Car Magnificent", in Ward, Ian, executive editor. World of Automobiles (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 5, p.525.
- ^ Wise, p.525 caption.
- ^ Wise, p.525.
- ^ Wise, p.525 and p.526.
- ^ Wise, p.525 and 526.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Wise, p.526.
- ^ Burlington Delaunay-Belleville www.coachbuild.com/forum, accessed 20 April 2022
- ^ a b c d "Automobilia". Toutes les voitures françaises 1948 (Salon Paris oct 1947) (in French). 7. Paris: Histoire & collections: 40. 1998.
- Wise, David Burgess. "Delahaye: Famous on Road and Race Track", in Ward, Ian, executive editor. World of Automobiles, Volume 5, pp. 525–526. London: Orbis, 1974, ISBN 9780839360094.
- La Delaunay-Belleville (1904-1947), un fleuron de l'automobile, Pierre-Henri, Philippe et François Richer, Les Editions Page de Garde, 2002, Elbeuf.
External links
Media related to Delaunay-Belleville at Wikimedia Commons
- delaunay at vea.qc.ca Archived 2004-06-24 at the Wayback Machine