According to noted Delahaye historian Jean-Paul Tissot, only 38 examples of the Delahaye 178 were produced, of which just seven survive.

The car offered here was one of two cabriolets built by Henri Chapron on the 178 chassis, and it is the only extant example.

Typical of Chapron’s work, it is beautifully proportioned with subtle lines and numerous distinctive touches, including the louvered hood, a front bumper sculpted around the grille, and, most prominently, a lightly vee’d split windshield, an element uncommon to Chapron designs.

It was completed by Chapron on 10 August 1949, as a left-hand-drive chassis equipped with the standard 178 engine, number 820034, and optional Rudge wheels.

Mr.

Tissot notes that the car was carrying registration ZG-83-37 and finished in what was believed to be the original livery of gray and red when it was acquired in 1960 by Jack Lappert of Wheeling, West Virginia, from a European seller believed to be in The Netherlands.

Information in the file ...