The $8 Million Talbot-Lago That Took Art Deco to Le Mans

The only Talbot-Lago Teardrop commissioned specifically for competition will cross the block at RM Sotheby’s during Monterey Car Week.

Few cars have made aerodynamics look quite so romantic. With its sweeping wings, impossibly long bonnet and bodywork seemingly shaped from a single drop of liquid metal, the Talbot-Lago T150-C SS Teardrop Coupe is one of the defining automotive designs of the Art Deco era. Yet chassis number 90117 was created for more than admiring glances on a concours lawn. It was built to race.

The exceptional 1938 coupe competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans the following year, making it the only known Talbot-Lago Teardrop commissioned specifically with competition in mind. On 15 August, it will be offered by RM Sotheby’s during Monterey Car Week with an estimate of between $7 million and $8 million—approximately £5 million to £6 million.

Sculpted for speed

Chassis 90117 is one of just 11 second-series “New York”-style Teardrop coupes created with coachwork by celebrated Parisian firm Figoni et Falaschi.

Unveiled during a period in which the influence of Art Deco could be seen across architecture, fashion and industrial design, the Teardrop was originally known as the Goutte d’Eau, or “water drop”. Its beautifully streamlined profile made it an instant expression of pre-war French glamour.

This particular car, however, was conceived with a distinctly competitive purpose. It was commissioned by Philippe Régnier de Massa, a member of one of France’s oldest noble families, who intended to enter it at Le Mans.

According to information accompanying the sale, the body was made four inches longer and two inches lower than those of the other Teardrop coupes, reducing its frontal area and improving its aerodynamic performance. Additional driving lights were incorporated into the front, while an opening rear window and a distinctive heart-shaped sunroof provided much-needed ventilation.

The competition-focused alterations continued inside. The driver received a supportive semi-bucket seat and a speedometer reading up to 250kph, or 155mph. Extra reinforcement was fitted within the engine compartment, alongside a long-range fuel tank and an external racing-style filler.

Beneath the bodywork sits Talbot-Lago’s enlarged 4.0-litre six-cylinder engine, featuring hemispherical combustion chambers and three Zenith-Stromberg carburettors. Producing approximately 140bhp, it sends power to the rear wheels through a four-speed Wilson pre-selector gearbox, which allowed its driver to choose the next gear before completing the change.

A singular appearance at Le Mans

In June 1939, the Talbot-Lago arrived at the Circuit de la Sarthe wearing the number eight.

The car was officially entered by British racing driver and writer T.A.S.O. Mathieson, while de Massa shared driving duties with French racer Norbert-Jean Mahé. Although it was de Massa’s first international race, Mahé brought valuable experience, having finished ninth at Le Mans in 1934.

The pairing was running in ninth position when its race ended on lap 88. Precisely what happened remains disputed. Some accounts attribute the retirement to a broken valve spring; others suggest the Talbot-Lago skidded on oil and travelled in the wrong direction, resulting in its disqualification.

Whatever the cause, it would prove to be the car’s only major competition appearance. The Second World War began just 10 weeks later, abruptly bringing its racing ambitions to an end.

Lost behind the Iron Curtain

By the early 1940s, chassis 90117 had found its way to Germany, where it was discovered in neglected condition and without its original engine. It later passed into the ownership of A. Becker of Rangsdorf, near Berlin.

Its location in East Germany placed the car beyond the reach of most Western collectors, and the Talbot-Lago remained largely unseen for decades. Only after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 did it re-emerge, passing first to German enthusiast Peter Schmitz and later to Dutch dealer Jan Bruijn.

In 1996, Californian collector Georg Lingenbrink acquired the car and began a painstaking six-year restoration. A correct-type Talbot-Lago engine was sourced in the UK, while the body was finished in a suitably dramatic shade of deep aubergine, paired with tan pigskin leather upholstery.

Collector Oscar Davis purchased the Talbot-Lago in 2006 and subsequently commissioned a further $100,000 of mechanical and cosmetic restoration. The car returned to Pebble Beach in 2007 before travelling to Europe, where it received the coveted Trofeo BMW Group Best of Show award at the 2010 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. A Louis Vuitton Concours Classic Award followed in 2011.

Back on the Monterey stage

Following Davis’s death, the Teardrop returned to Monterey in 2022 and sold through RM Sotheby’s for $7.265 million. Its current custodian has continued to preserve the restoration, including commissioning recent servicing by RM Auto Restoration.

Now it is heading back to the auction block with a valuation slightly above its previous sale price.

Its appeal lies in an extraordinary collision of qualities rarely found within one car. It possesses the sculptural bodywork and rarity required for the world’s most prestigious concours events, but also the competition specification and provenance to make it an enticing prospect for historic motoring.

Almost nine decades after its sole appearance at Le Mans, the Talbot-Lago remains a compelling contradiction: an Art Deco masterpiece designed not merely to be displayed, but to be driven at speed.