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Which Delahaye Saoutchik roadster is this?
The likely subject is the 1949 Type 175 S Roadster, chassis 815023. RM Sotheby’s identified the car in its 2010 auction listing and recorded its sale for $3,300,000. That is a historical auction result, not a current valuation. RM Sotheby’s 2010 listing
Delahaye supplied the chassis and mechanical base; Jacques Saoutchik was the coachbuilder associated with the body. That distinction matters: this is not simply a factory Delahaye design, but an individual expression of the postwar coachbuilding tradition.
The car has also been associated with British actress Diana Dors. The connection appears in an archival search result, but is not established by the auction page, so it should be treated as an attribution rather than a fully documented provenance fact.
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What makes its design so compelling?
The roadster belongs to the period when bespoke coachwork again offered a way to make a luxury car singular after wartime disruption. Saoutchik’s name evokes the French coachbuilding world in which a chassis could become a highly individual object, shaped as much for visual impact as for transport.
Its appeal is best understood as a balance of choices rather than a checklist of supposedly definitive features. Look at how the body relates to the chassis silhouette, how the hood, cabin and rear body share visual weight, and whether ornament reinforces the main forms or competes with them. The roadster’s flamboyance is part of the point: it asks to be noticed. For some viewers that theatricality reads as confidence and luxury; for others, it crosses into excess.
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The broader period context is visible in the Frist Art Museum’s 2013 exhibition of 1930s and 1940s automobiles, which described the era through classic elegance, luxurious materials and Art Deco’s “iconography of motion.” The exhibition included other cars—not this 1949 roadster—so it offers context rather than evidence about the exact car’s details. Frist Art Museum exhibition page
How does it compare with the better-known 1937 Delahaye?
A frequent source of confusion is the 1937 Delahaye 135 roadster by Figoni et Falaschi. It is a different car, built before the war and shaped by a more overt streamlining idiom. The 1949 Type 175 S is the Saoutchik-bodied roadster; the 1937 car is useful as a contrast, not as a stand-in for it.
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| Comparison point | 1949 Type 175 S, Saoutchik | 1937 Delahaye 135, Figoni et Falaschi |
|---|---|---|
| Coachwork | Jacques Saoutchik; the 1949 car is the subject here. | Figoni et Falaschi; a separate prewar car. |
| Useful design lens | Consider proportion, ornament, and whether its theatrical presence feels balanced. | Ken Gross’s Revs Institute essay discusses integrated fenders, streamlined form and ornamental chrome. |
| Historical setting | Postwar bespoke coachbuilding. | Prewar streamlining of the 1930s. |
Richard Adatto’s description of the 1937 Figoni Delahaye captures what makes that separate car distinctive: “this new evolution took modern streamlining to the next level, by allowing the shape of the coachwork to dictate the (car’s) styling. Instead of separate pontoon fenders that protruded from the car’s body, Figoni found a way to incorporate them into the body, heightening the impression of a singular, flowing form.” That observation applies to the Figoni car, not automatically to the Saoutchik roadster. Revs Institute: The Delahayes of the Ranch
Is it the world’s most beautiful car?
There is no objective winner. The Saoutchik roadster makes a persuasive case if beauty means bold coachbuilt presence: its appeal is not restraint but the ambition to turn a road car into a one-off visual statement. If your ideal car has clean, quiet lines and little ornament, its exuberance may be exactly what puts you off.
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A fair judgment is to compare what the design is trying to achieve, not to treat every Delahaye roadster as interchangeable. The 1937 Figoni car’s integrated, flowing form and the 1949 Saoutchik car’s postwar theatricality represent distinct approaches to bespoke automotive design. The more useful question is which approach you find beautiful.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is known about the car today?
The documented auction reference establishes the car’s identity and its 2010 sale, but the available sources do not establish its present owner, location or whether it can currently be viewed. The Frist Art Museum’s page concerns a 2013 exhibition and does not indicate that this roadster is on display there now.
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