Delahaye Type 175 / 178 / 180 History

Development of Delahaye's postwar grand routier began before the war, but the death of chief design-engineer Jean François in April 1944 delayed the programme. When it finally reached production in 1948 the Type 175 (and its longer-wheelbase siblings, the 178 and 180) represented a genuine technical step forward: a 4.5-litre straight-six paired with a four-speed Cotal electro-mechanical pre-selector gearbox, riding on a semi-monocoque chassis. Coachbuilders Jacques Saoutchik, Marcel Pourtout, Henri Chapron, and Joseph Figoni all bodied examples, producing some of the most dramatic postwar French coachwork.

The project was ultimately plagued by the inferior metallurgy of early post-war French steel: the chassis proved prone to stress cracking, particularly around the Dubonnet independent front suspension units, which required meticulous maintenance. Delahaye was eventually forced to buy back several damaged chassis to avoid litigation. When production of the 175/178/180 series ended in 1951, approximately 107 cars had been completed across the three wheelbase variants.