Start with what the Delahaye Type 235 is: a car with 3,557 , built from 1951 to 1954, at the height of the post-war boom. What it meant takes a little longer. The shape is credited to Philippe Charbonneaux.
Where it came from
The Delahaye 235 is a luxury car built by French manufacturer Delahaye from 1951 until 1954. Presented at the 1951 Paris Auto Salon, the 235 was an attempt at updating the pre-war Type 135 for the 1950s. It competed with the Grégoire and Anjou models, built by Hotchkiss, another French luxury marque. Delahaye needed a boost, as combined production of the Types 135 and 175 (and the long wheelbase 178/180) had dropped to an abysmal 77 by 1951. Most noticeable was the new modern ponton-style bodywork, with the full-width front designed by chief designer Philippe Charbonneaux. The mechanics were credited to Fernand Lacour. The prototypes body was manufactured by Motto in Italy, and a total of 84 Types 235 were built.
The 235 was originally sold only in chassis form and received bodywork from various coachbuilders, mainly Henri Chapron, but also from Figoni, Saoutchik, Antem, and others. The company's own business premises at the rue de Banquier in Paris were never tooled up to build car bodies for the 235, but in 1953, as a response to sluggish sales, a standardised "factory" bodywork ("coach d'usine") from Chapron became available. At 2,700,000 Francs, this represented a saving of nearly thirty percent over the bespoke coach-built versions. The engine was the well known 3.6 liter inline six from the 135MS, here with three downdraught Solex carburettors and 152 hp (113 kW) at 4,200 rpm. The 235 effectively replaced the larger Type 175 in the marketplace, while the lesser 135M continued to be available until 1954. Top speed was around 170 km/h (106 mph). The brakes received a lo
Under the skin
The engine is 3,557 . On the scales it comes to 1100 kg. Drive goes through a 4-speed pre-selector (Cotal). The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 295 cm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
In the Delahaye line-up the Delahaye Type 235 has a clear place: it replaced the Delahaye 135M; the factory was 13th arrondissement of Paris. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Toyota Land Cruiser, the Cadillac Eldorado, the Chevrolet Bel Air. Nearby in the Delahaye catalogue sit the Delahaye 103 and the Delahaye 12CV.
Owning one today
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Delahaye Type 235 has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.