RACING ON THE EVE OF WAR By 1939, war in Europe was all but inevitable, yet motorsports rivalries and racing developments continued unabated; it is bittersweet that some of the most glorious cars and inspiring drivers of all time came to prominence just before the Continent plunged fully into conflict.

The racing Delages were among these fantastic, last-of-their-era machines, and this 1939 D6-3L Grand Prix racer is a particularly noteworthy example of the breed.

Walter Watney, a Paris-area Delage distributor, had acquired the rights to the Delage marque in the mid-1930s.

Using a manufacturing partnership with Delahaye to keep the Delage name alive, he realized that motorsport was an invaluable marketing tool for Delage’s powerful, durable cars.

Louis Gérard, a wealthy Delage client and highly capable gentleman racer, seemed the ideal man to bring Watney the wins (and publicity) he needed; Gérard had won his class, and achieved 4th overall, at Le Mans in his Delage in 1937, and earn...