Prompted by @chav ’s superbe post on Jaques Saoutchik’s late 1940s and early ‘50s Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport, I present Figoni Et Falaschi’s design for the same chassis, by way of comparison and waving the flag for my team.
Despite France's post-war horsepower tax, intended to concentrate domestic auto production on mass-market needs, a few of the surviving luxury brands issued new chassis, including Talbot-Lago's spectacular, high-performance T26 Grand Sport. These 4.5-litre straight-six thoroughbreds were the ultimate Grand Routiers, suitable for a Grand Prix and Le Mans as well as luxury carriage.
29 were built and delivered to France’s greatest carrosseries with only one, chassis 110103 created by Figoni et Falaschi for a Monsieur Fayolle. The Grand Sport was delivered to Fayolle on 8 October 1948, yet was not exhibited at any concours events, and within a year was returned to Figoni Et Falaschi who displayed it at the 1949 Paris Salon where it created a sensation, winning the Grand Prix d’Elegance et de Confort.
As early as 1937 with his Jeancarte style (sometimes referred to as 'notch-back') coupes, on T23 Talbot-Lago chassis, Joseph Figoni had expressed natural forms with rear fenders rising in hight to match the sloping bootlines, yet picked-out in contrast colours, like insects' wings, closed to the body. With the 1939 World's Fair Delahaye 165, the passing wind not only appeared to flow 'through' the body and pontoon fenders, (Figoni's 'envelopantes'). But the fuselage of the automobile appears to speed forward of the fenders: a style ultimately developing into the post-war 'Narval' with its protrudent 'horn' as in the Narwahl whale. This aquatic theme developed further with the present coupe, the first of Joseph Figoni's 'Squale' styles - named after the Squaliforme order of shark. In the present car, we see the rear fender 'wings' of the Jeancarte style, rise even to the level of the roofline, being delineated by a raised edge that also sharpens the cockpit's slab-sidedness. The Squale's open-mouth grille, bears an aquatic look with gill-like accents, and cyclops headlamp, twinned with two spotlights. And it continued in the styling of individual custom Simca into the 1950s.
I see this style, and contemplating the suggested wings rising to the raised edge of the roofline, I sence the graceful 'flight’ of a giant Manta Ray.
A fine post Charles and a beautiful model. I have not seen in photographs the actual car nor the model. Who made this very interesting, white metal, I assume, model?
Thank you David for your generous words, and again, my apologies, I always forget: It's 1/43 ABC DECO by ABC Brianza (ABC341) wrongly listed by Brianza as 1949 as stated above, it was completed in 1948. I enclose some pictures of the 1/1:
