All photos courtesy Artcurial.
For one year in the late 1930s, Chrysler built just about every body style except for a convertible. Whether due to intent or oversight, it proved a short-lived omission from the model lineup, but at least a couple of coachbuilders stepped in to fill that vacuum. Derham is perhaps the most well known, but French coachbuilder Pourtout built another, one of which may soon leave that country for the first time in more than 75 years.
Pourtout, founded in 1925 by Marcel Pourtout in Bougival, a suburb of Paris, is perhaps best known for its Darl’Mat Peugeot roadsters and Eclipse convertible hardtops done in conjunction with designer Georges Paulin. Yet Pourtout rebodied a wide variety of European makes—most notably Delage and Lancia, but also Bentley, Delahaye, Simca and a number of truck manufacturers for Tour de France promotional vehicles—as well as a handful of American chassis.
As a result of a May 1936 trade agreement between France and the United States that granted each country “most favored nation” trading status, American carmakers found it much easier to export bare chassis to French coachbuilders. Within a couple of years, Pourtout took advantage of the new arrangement by importing nearly two dozen Grahams, but for 1939 the coachbuilder switched to Chrysler products.
Nine years earlier, Pourtout had designed and rebodied a Chrysler for the family of Georges Clémenceau, the two-time prime minister of France, but he had never built any cars in series on Chrysler chassis to date. Exactly how many Chryslers Pourtout rebodied in 1939 seems to be up for debate. The Beaulieu encyclopedia entry on Pourtout claims 14, but Artcurial, which will offer one of the Chryslers at its Retromobile auction this week, claims that of the 13 chassis delivered to Bougival, Pourtout finished and delivered 10 before Germany invaded France and requisitioned the remaining three.
Based on a 125-inch wheelbase Imperial chassis fitted with the 130-hp, 323.5-cu.in. L-head straight-eight, the Pourtout-bodied Chrysler coming up for auction (chassis number 6748714) maintained its grille and dashboard, and little else. Pourtout removed the headlamps from the front fenders and replaced them with standalone headlamps, then fitted a swooping 2+1 convertible body with two bucket seats up front and a jump seat behind.
Artcurial’s description of the Imperial makes no mention of its original owner or of how it survived the war intact, but does note that the car has never left France and that it underwent restoration less than a kilometer from the Pourtout workshop. Artcurial’s pre-auction estimate ranges from €280,000 to €340,000, or about $315,000 to $385,000.
The Artcurial Retromobile auction will take place Saturday, February 6. For more information, visit Artcurial.com.
from Hemmings Daily - News for the collector car enthusiast http://ift.tt/16eUAbt
Sourced by CA DMV registration services online. Renew your registration online in only ten minutes. No DMV, no lines, no hassles, and no appointments needed. Visit Quik, Click, pay, and print your registration from home.
0 comments:
Post a Comment