1905 Delaugère et Clayette 20HP Landaulet
Competed on the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run

Registration No: AA 279
Chassis No: 303
MOT: Exempt

• Powerful, chain-driven, four-cylinder Edwardian
• Believed to have been delivered new in Toulouse on 22nd February, 1905
• Previously dated to 1904 and allowed to participate in the London to Brighton Run, but now thought to be a year younger
• In current ownership since 2009, and exercised on numerous occasions, including trips to Paris and Ireland, and multiple VCC outings
• Notably handsome and well-crafted Landaulet coachwork by Verheyden of Paris

Veteran and vintage enthusiasts may have come across Delaugère et Clayette before, but the Orléans firm cannot claim to be a household name, even though it was producing cars throughout the full first quarter of the 20th century. The reason for this is simple – SA des Établissements Delaugère, Clayette, Frères et Cie, to give it its full name, was content to be une grande marque de France but never aspired to rank among les grandes marques du monde. Although it made large, puissant, luxurious machines to rival the best Panhards, De Dions and Renaults, it is thought that Delaugère never made any attempt to market its cars outside la patrie. Production of motorised vehicles was underway by 1901, initially confined to tricycles, quadricycles and single-cylinder voiturettes of up to 500cc, but from 1903 the company began to mimic the great chain-drive Panhards, with their two- and four-cylinder engines. The larger Delaugères, including the 20hp model, benefitted from four forward speeds, and by 1905 the largest model in the range was a colossal 15-litre four.

Introduced in 1904, the Type 4A was powered by a large capacity (over six litres) four-cylinder engine driving the aforementioned four-speed and side chain-drive to the rear wheels. The model was typically fitted with four-seater coachwork in open or closed guises. Notable for its more sophisticated valve gear and ignition system, the Type 4AM was otherwise an obvious evolution of its predecessor.

The beautiful example in our sale is thought to date from 1905 and features the most wonderful landaulet coachwork by Carrosserie Verheyden of Courbevoie, one of the many prestigious but now-obscure coachbuilding houses which traded across Paris at the height of la Belle Époque. Believed to have been delivered new in Toulouse on 22nd February, 1905, there is no further history until 1973, when it was imported into Britain, and it clearly wears an older restoration which we suspect was completed shortly thereafter. We are advised that it was provisionally dated as a 1904 car by the Veteran Car Club in 1974, from which it followed that it was able to participate in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run on an understood three occasions. Purchased by the present owner, an enthusiastic VCC member, in 2009, it has since been exercised on a number of occasions, including trips to Paris and Ireland and multiple Veteran Car Club outings. On one of its Continental excursions, it even lapped Magny-Cours.

The matter of the Veteran Car Run is a somewhat convoluted one, as 1905 cars which have previously been dated 1904 and gone to Brighton prior to the date being revised are often eligible to continue participating under Grandfather Rights rules. There are so many opportunities for driving it in VCC events and, in truth, with the best motoring done on the quiet lanes and through picture-postcard villages. When one drives an Edwardian along the right roads, it very quickly becomes apparent why the period is referred to as the Golden Age of Motoring. With its imperious Landaulet body, this Delaugère is one of relatively few veteran and Edwardian cars which can be enjoyed with the whole family and in all weathers. The button-backed upholstery (leather for the chauffeur and cord for the passengers) and spacious passenger salon make for a lovely environment in which to enjoy a gentler, more civilised kind of motoring. Beautiful little details appear all over, adding to the charm, such as the BRC headlamps, dainty Pelgrus opera lamps, coiled Brennus horn and exquisite ivory door handles. A blanking plate marked “1905 Delaugère” is believed to have been fitted by the factory when converting the car from a high-tension to a low-tension magneto. The pushrod-operated valves are unusual, and the VCC’s Dating Committee remarked that they “would appear to suggest that it has been modified from its original automatic inlet valve system.”

The Type 4AM is very likely a unique survivor with the landaulet body, and the softly mellowed restoration arguably looks even nicer than a fresh one. Sold with a large history file including the current V5C and some VCC papers, all it wants is to be enjoyed once more.

PLEASE NOTE: As quoted in the printed catalogue, this lot has ivory door handles. In accordance with the UK Ivory Act 2018, the vehicle is exempt and a self-declaration has been completed ref: XZNQP1FY.

For more information, please contact:
Paul Cheetham
paul.cheetham@handh.co.uk
07538 667452