1937 Talbot-Lago T150 C-SS Teardrop Sold for $17M at Auction
A stunning 1937 Talbot-Lago T150 C-SS Teardrop Coupe set a record for the brand on Friday by selling for $13,425,000 USD, or about $17.1 million CAD, during Gooding & Company’s Amelia Island auction in Florida.
The sale also makes it one of the most valuable French cars of all time.
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For those of you who aren’t familiar with Talbot, the French automaker was founded in 1903 and made a name for itself on both sides of the English Channel in the early 20th century. Following a number of setbacks and nearing bankruptcy, it was saved by Italian engineer Antony Lago in 1935, which gave birth to Automobiles Talbot-Lago.
The T150 C quickly became its signature model with Special and SS (Super Sport) variants that could be specified in a “Goutte d’eau” (Teardrop) body crafted by Giuseppe Figoni and Ovidio Falaschi. It won the Prix d’Excellence at the 1938 Concours d’Elegance Fémina in Paris and many more prestigious awards in the years that followed including at Amelia Island and Pebble Beach.
If you’re wondering about the specs, the 4.0-litre inline six-cylinder engine was rated at 140 horsepower and mated to a four-speed transmission. The car rode on an independent front suspension with upper wishbone and lower transverse semi-elliptical leaf spring. The cabin wasn't too shabby, either:
Most Valuable Japanese Car Ever
Earlier in the day, Gooding & Company sold a 1967 Toyota 2000 GT—considered by many to be the first Japanese supercar—for $2,535,000 USD, or $3.2 million CAD. It’s an auction record not just for Toyota vehicles but also for all Japanese cars.
Other notable sales at Amelia Island include a 1959 Porsche 718 RSK ($2.97 million), a 1954 Bentley R-Type Continental ($2.97 million), a 1991 Ferrari F40 ($2.45 million), a one-of-six 1965 Porsche 904/6 ($2.2 million), a 1959 BMW 507 Series II ($2.15 million), a 1967 Ferrari 330 GTS ($2.1 million) and a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT ($2 million).