2005 Best of Show Winner
June 20, 2021
1937 Delage D8-120 S Pourtout Aéro Coupé shown by Sam & Emily Mann
When the confetti flew over the awards ramp at the 55th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, it descended on a one-off Delage owned by Sam and Emily Mann.
The winning car was a prototype originally commissioned by Louis Delage, the man who founded the French car company bearing his name in 1905. By 1937 that company had been purchased by Delahaye, but Delage was still involved and he wanted to show off the innovative new D8-120 chassis, so he approached Marcel Pourtout to create very special coupé for the Paris Auto Salon that October.
An innovative streamlined body was penned by Pourtout’s Chief Stylist Georges Paulin, who was at the forefront of aerodynamic design, and it was built of all-aluminum on an experimental D8-120 S (for surbaisse, or “lowered”) chassis with a 4.7-liter engine. The windscreen, just one of the coupé’s notable components, is a curved ribbon of glass that wraps around the car. It was among the first vehicles to be tested in a wind tunnel. And it is said to be a delight to drive at speeds of up to 100 mph.
After it was shown, Louis Delage opted to keep it as his personal car. It was the epitome of the simple tagline his company had used for years—“A Beautiful French Car.”
The car’s history after Delage is little known, but prior to the Manns, it was owned by Manny Dragone and Alfredo Brenner.
“When I originally received this car years ago, it was shipped in crates and was literally in pieces,” said Sam Mann, on the awards ramp. “It took two years to put the car back together, so this win is exceptionally gratifying.”
The win was the fourth car shown by the Manns to take our top award. The Manns are now tied with William Harrah for having the second-most wins here of any entrants; only the Nethercutts have surpassed that number, with six wins in total.
The spring after its win at Pebble Beach, the Delage was presented with the first Louis Vuitton Classic Concours Award, confirming it as the “Best of the Best.”
