Two-Toned Elegance: The 1948 Talbot-Lago
Last week, we brought you an early fin as showcased on a gorgeous Delage, part of the Petersen's exhibit titled FINS: Form without Function. The incredible beauty of that Delage reminded us of the superb specimens of automotive genius on display at the Mullin Automotive Museum, and today, we bring you one of them: The 1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Coupe.
Never one to disappoint on the details, the Mullin shares their research about this forties siren. "The T26 Grand Sport was first displayed on a shortened chassis at the October 1947 Paris Auto Salon, and only 12 were made during 1948, the model's first year of production.
The Grand Sport was noted for its estimated 124 mph top speed, its 190 bhp engine having been developed from the Lago Record model that it replaced. The Grand Sport was built for racing or luxury and benefited, too, from Talbot's successful T26C Grand Prix.
With its race-bred engine and sport chassis, the Grand Sport was one of the world's fastest production cars. Piloted by Louis Rosier, a T26 Grand Sport won the 1950 LeMans 24-hour race.
Almost all Talbots sold during the late 1940s were fit with factory bodies. The T26 Grand Sport was the exception, and cars were delivered only as bare chassis.
Affluent customers appointed superior coachbuilders such as Saoutchik, Fronay, and Figoni & Falaschi to create elaborate and elegant custom bodies.
This car is known to have participated at a number of concours around 1950. However, little is known otherwise about its early history until the early 1960s when Edsel Pfobe of Painesville, Ohio purchased the car from someone in West Virginia.
A few years later Marvin Newman bought it and commissioned its full restoration. In 1975 Jacques "Frenchy" Harguindeguy bought the car.
In 1989 Peter Mullin purchased the car from the Blackhawk Collection at an auction at the "imperial palace" Hotel & Casino in Nevada."
Pictures hardly do this Talbot Lago justice. We highly recommend that you put seeing a Talbot Lago in person on your automotive bucket list, and the Mullin is the perfect place to spot one!