Delahaye · 1948–1951

Delahaye 175

The Delahaye Type 175 is a coachbuilt luxury automobile manufactured by French automaker Delahaye. Production build numbers were formally recorded from early 1948 to mid 1951, validating that 107 cars were built in the mechanically cloned three wheelbase series comprising the Types 175/175S, 178 and 180. This run of 4.5-litre chassis was offered in a variety of body-styles, exclusively built by coachbuilders. Delahaye did not have its own coachbuilding capability. A 1953 fire in the administration and drawing offices destroyed most of its files and technical drawings. Consequently, little is known about the Type 175 and the longer-wheelbase Types 178 and 180. Club Delahaye has recorded 25 surviving cars, out of the 107 confirmed built. There were 51 Type 175 cars, most being the optional 175S variant. There were 38 Type 178 cars, a few of which were built with 175S options that were not offered on that model. There were 18 Type 180 cars, two of which have the optional 175S engine, both being heavily armoured Chapron-bodied limousines built for the President and Vice President of France's Communist Party.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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Initial design

The Type 165, a 4.5-litre, V12 engined, grand-touring car, elevated Delahaye's prewar prestige but could not economically be sustained. The Type 165 was replaced by the 4.5-litre Type 175 in early 1948. Managing Director Charles Weiffenbach had planned to debut the Type 175 at the October 1939 Paris Auto Salon. The Paris Salon was where Delahaye received most of its purchase-orders, but the venue was cancelled without notice due to the impending German invasion. The shareholders had decided that a simpler, practical, 4.5-litre engine - one litre larger than the Type 135, but familiar to Delahaye's workers - accompanied by a new, state-of-the-art chassis was to supersede the Type 165, and replace the Types 134, 135, 138 and 148L by 1940. That, however, did not occur as France was plunged into war in early June 1940. The prototype evolved beyond its initial 1939 guise and was finally presented to the shareholders for production approval in March 1944. The four-wheel independent suspension was a first for Delahaye, and it was the first Delahaye to be built exclusively in left-hand drive. Testing of the untried and unproven mechanicals was not yet possible, due to the ongoing German occupation of Paris and the factory. The introduction had to await the belated return of the Paris Auto Salon, in October 1946. After the war, the Types 135 and 148L had to be re-introduced, to generate cashflow. The company's Delage D6-70 model continued as it was before the war, but the straight-eight engined Delage D8-120 was discontinued. The Type 175 had a naturally aspirated, 4.5-litre, overhead-valve, inline six-cylinder engine, with seven rather than four main bearings. The chassis featured Dubonnet independent front suspension built under license; an independent De Dion rear suspension

Chassis

The new 175/178/180 series chassis introduced the semi-monocoque concept. These units were completely different from the foregoing Type 135 and its longer wheelbase iterations, the Type 148L and Type 235, in width, proportions, and structure. The stressed-steel floor-pan was welded integrally around the bottom perimeter of the passenger compartment, providing exceptional rigidity. The chassis was larger, wider, and heavier, than the Type 135. It had parallel side-rails, that were boxed, instead of being open channels. Previous models' frame-rails tapered from the aft cockpit cross-member forward, whereas the three new models' cockpits were parallel-sided rectangles, setting the precedent. The Types 135, 145, 148, 155, and 165 had the identical, proprietary, independent front suspension system shared with Delage and Talbot. In contrast, the all-new 4.5-liter chassis employed a sophisticated Dubonnet independent front suspension, licensed to Delahaye by its inventor. The independent Dubonnet front suspension system was in use prior to the Delahaye, having been licensed to General Motors in 1933, as well as by Alfa-Romeo, Simca, and Vauxhall. After WW2, only Vauxhall and Delahaye retained the Dubonnet system. Others had moved on to the unequal-length A-arm system, pioneered by Cadillac head engineer Maurice Olly. The GMC system was licensed by Rolls-Royce, for its Phantom-111 and Wraith models, and it subsequent postwar Silver Dawn, Silver Wraith and Bentley Mk-6. Dubonnet systems proved problematic, unless fastidiously maintained. Oil-seal leaks caused seizures, and suspension collapses. Accidental damages were sustained by an undisclosed number of early cars in the 175/178/180 series. Parts failure reports doomed the new series to failure, irreparably damaging Delahaye's

History

After having spent four years of World War II building railroad rolling stock parts for German trains, Delahaye was then included in deputy director General Paul-Marie Pons' 1945 plan Pons for French industry and engineering. This was a five-year program to rebuild French industry, and source incoming capital for French companies. The plan designated Delahaye to build sports and luxury cars for the export market, to generate foreign currency. Over 80 percent of the company's automobile chassis were exported to France's colonies, including in Africa and Asia. In consideration of the expense of producing the complicated, unreliable, impractical V-12 used in the four Type 145 sports-racers; and, the Type 155 monoposto (all five V12 racecars were made exclusively for Lucy O'Reilly Schell for her team Écurie Bleue), as well as the four Type 165 grand-touring cars, V12 production ended in late 1938, with twelve sets of engine parts made, resulting in those nine cars. The V-12 was replaced by a new, conventional, less complex, inline, overhead-valve, six-cylinder engine of the same 4.5-liter engine displacement. The show-chassis debuted in optionally equipped Type 175S form, with a partially built body by Letourneur et Marchand, introducing Delahaye's new postwar "face". It was one of the few new machines at the first postwar Paris Auto Salon, in October 1946. It garnered considerable attention, and Delahaye's first model to be manufactured exclusively in left-hand-drive. The chassis was neither fully developed nor adequately tested by October 1946, before parts were put into production in late November 1947. Problems with the Dubonnet front suspension soon became apparent. Disgruntled owners experienced parts failures, and sustained accidental damages. Delahaye was obliged to

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

name: Delahaye 175/178/180
Manufacturer: Delahaye
Production: 1948–1951
Class: Luxury car
Layout: FR layout
Body style: coachbuilt styles
Engine: 4,455 cc type 183 OHV I6
Transmission: 4-speed pre-selector (Cotal)
Length: 4.62-metres
Width: 1.69-metres
Height: various
Kerb weight: 2100 kg
Wheelbase: 2.95-metres
Predecessor: Delahaye Type 165
Successor: Delahaye Type 235
Related: Delahaye 135
Designer: Various coachbuilders

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1140973CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delahaye_175CC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1376912041 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1947_Delahaye_175.jpgCC BY-SA 2.0 · Photo: Rex GrayCropped, faces blurred, signature removed by Mr.choppers · retrieved 2026-10-01
Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.