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Graeme Hunt Ltd

Viewing by Appointment Central London

1938 Talbot Lago T23 Cabriolet by Figoni & Falaschi SOLD

Our super T23 was originally delivered to renowned French Grand Prix driver Louis Rosier at the time of his 1938 Le Mans entry, alongside a similarly designed T150SS Coupé by Figoni et Falaschi - I bet he did many things in two's.......

He was a very charismatic man who was involved in racing both before and after WWII and famously won the LeMans 24 hour race in 1950 - having 22 hours of the total of 24

Amazing feat which health and safety regulations would not allow today

He was also a member of the French Resistance in WWII and after the conflict ended he had to find his wife and daughter who were held hostage in Germany and thereafter he entered the Monte Carlo Rally in 1946

He also produced farming machinery and had the largest Renault dealership group in France at the time

Of course, such an eminent Gentleman ensured that his racing cars were French and the beautiful bodies were penned by French coach builders too

Hence the design of our T23 was by Figoni of coach builders Figoni et Falaschi

The car has beautifully proportioned pontoon style wings with full rear wing spats The wings are adorned with typical Figoni et Falaschi elaborations in stainless steel and the headlamp cowls reflect the detail and line of the side lamps

From its louvred bonnet to it's distinctive dorsal fin at the rear, the blue duo shade 3 position Cabriolet remains in excellent overall condition

The interior is trimmed beautifully in rouge leather with matching carpets and all the interior woodwork veneer is in outstanding order and the fascia, in true French fashion, is detailed metal painted to reflect beautiful wood burr finishes

Mechanically she sports typical racing heritage from Talbot Lago and is fitted with a powerful 6 Cylinder 4. 1 litre engine and a Wilson (they owned company) pre-selector gearbox giving sparkling pre-war road performance

Constructed at Talbot Lago’s workshops near Paris the T23 was restored many years later by a mechanical engineer over the course of a further 20 years

This gentleman a Monsieur Andre Lapines of Lille, obviously an avid Talbot Lago enthusiast, he painstakingly restored the car from the frame up, paying particular attention to originality

Mechanically he also ended up rebuilding the engine and gearbox (I suppose that after 20 years you would expect this anyhow)

2, 000 hours were spent on detailed work, rendering an absolutely show quality finish

Subsequently Mr Jack Stromers of Monterey, California purchased her in 1996 and drove over 800 miles through the French Alps before finding its way to California

Thereafter she was then sold to a Dutch collector in 2004 and returned to Europe where it won a first prize in its' category at the Concours d'Elegance 2010 at Paleis Het loo (Netherlands)

Since then she was re-united to her original home in France, suitably another Talbot Lago enthusiast and an engineer, has owned the car for the last 7 years, during which period he has won several prizes in concours events in the South West Region of France

Figoni & Falaschi are one of the most renowned stylists of note - their bodywork adorned some of the most important pre' and post war motorcars and can be seen winning at most major Concours Events in the World

From a design standpoint, the Talbot Lago T23 is an exercise in elegance, luxury, and race-proven performance and alongside the likes of Delage, Delahaye, and Bugatti, Talbot Lago's represent the very best of French coach built motor cars

She is in overall good mechanical and cosmetic condition and ready to participate in any tour or event - rather than that she is just as good on the road as she is pretty in the flesh

Given the enormous sums commanded by Teardrop Coupés, and the fact that Talbot-Lago (they famously recorded not only first place at he 1937 French Grand Prix but 2nd, 3rd and 5th too) ranks alongside Bugatti, Delage, Delahaye and Hispano Suiza in the pantheon of great French marques, this particular T23 Cabriolet offers Talbot Lago prestige with Figoni et Falaschi design at a most modest consideration

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