Millicent Rogers, granddaughter of one VERY rich man, bought the latest Delage Aérosport, the special “Paris Show Cars” ... and then had that very special car changed to her liking... and had it redone in veal skin. Because hand-dyed red veal skin is softer than calfskin, she insisted

while both the Talbot-Lago and the Bugatti were elegant two-seat coupes, their uncompromising design led to overly cramped cabins and limited views through the windows. French manufacturer Delage, together with coachbuilders Letourneur and Marchand, saw an opportunity and successfully married exquisite streamlined design with comfort and practicality in their exquisite four-passenger D8-120 Aérosport.

Indeed, cognoscenti considered Delage — the most elegant and well-constructed car of its era — to be France’s finest car. A Delage could be driven with ease, in contrast to the detuned race cars of Bugatti and Delahaye that were too highly strung to be enjoyed daily, or the cars with Figoni and Falaschi bodies whose extravagant shapes provided limited practicality.

While Millicent Rogers loved the car, she would not buy it unless some design changes were made. In addition, she wanted changes to the exterior and interior colors and finishes. As one of the most expensive cars of the century, the Aérosport was a serious acquisition — and it was her checkbook. In January 1938, Rogers and her husband returned to Paris to purchase the Delage and immediately had the car sent to Letourneur and Marchand for further modifications.

Rogers, in fluent French, explained to the designers, Marcel Letourneur and Carlo Delaisse, the changes she sought, including reshaping the curve of the rear fenders to echo the sweep of the front fenders.

The designers liked Rogers’ suggestions and were impressed with her fine eye, so much so that they incorporated her design suggestions on the next three Aérosports.

Letourneur and Marchand delivered Millicent’s Delage in summer 1938 as she requested. It was the only Aérosport finished in metallic paint, a fine graphite-gray lacquer, and reupholstered for her in hand-dyed red veal skin (softer than calfskin.) The interior wood trim was finished in exotic burled thuya wood from North Africa and dark walnut.

https://www.collierautomedia.com/millicents-delage
https://www.chantillyartsetelegance.com/language/en/the-most-beautiful-cars-in-the-world/

old fashioned hearse, a 1925 Delage D1

For comparison, here is a 1925 Delage torpedo

http://www.scuderiavince.com/1924-delage-di-torpedo/

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10213337510415099&set=g.712743252141034&type=1&ifg=1

The OTHER hearse at the link was a Lincoln

So, racing in parking garages was thought to be an import thing, something these damn kids do since Fast and Furious, with Hondas and Nissans... how quaint. It's been at least 91 years since some Parisian hooligans were drifting around the corners and up the ramps, so, it's nothing new.

Way back in 1927!

Banville's symbol race where several thousand people in Paris went racing in a new and gigantic garage in the neighborhood, eight floors high and three or four floors below ground, all accessed by  ramps.

Spectators hung out in the turns and at each landing, and also on the steps of the stairs and in the offices that give it an elegant feel of a major sporting event.

 At the top, in a spacious tennis court were tables of cakes, small ovens, and champagne were waiting for guests.

The meeting, which was attended by Divo, Seneschal, Wagner, Boillot, Robert Benoist, Guyot Lagache, Charavel, Thomas, Rovin and Dauvergne.  Benoist was the initiator and organizer of this meeting that included motorcycles, cyclecars, racing cars and Bugatti, Delage, Amilcar, Seneschal, Talbot, Peugeot, etc.,

It ended, without incident or accident. At the race was only one closed car, the winner of the recent Monte Carlo rally.  27.02.1927

https://www.facebook.com/isabelle.bracquemond.7/posts/10217147361785088

Australia is home to the only surviving 1914 Delage Type-S grand prix car in the world, and thanks to a 3D scanner, it's going to be able to continue driving!

In 2014, when the engine block cracked and water met oil, the Delage ground to a halt

With no replacement parts or original drawings to go by, and with few people having the traditional manufacturing skills, Grant Cowie looked for alternative ways of rebuilding the complicated 16-valve engine.

He decided that using digital technology to clone the original block would be the most accurate, efficient and non-destructive method to get the car back up and running, as the traditional wooden pattern method would be prohibitively expensive and might make several useless blocks before one good one

A local iron foundry cast the engine using the 3D-printed mould, then it was finished with traditional  machinists work.

After the engine was installed, there was an enormous sense of relief when the Delage turned over successfully.  "It is a considerable achievement for all those involved and, might I say, quite an achievement for Australian engineering," he said.

here is that same car in 1914 racing in Lyon France in the 750-kilometre French Grand Prix.

Thanks Bruce!

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-27/saving-the-last-delage-type-s-grand-prix-car/8310958

Delage at the Rodeo Concours

I found a new website that celebrates cool photography, airplanes, celebs, motorbikes, race cars, etc.. Silidrome.com very cool stuff, not much info, but cool photos

 The coolest, the Fonz. On a Triumph

 A Corsair getting used during down time as a hammock

 Steampunk looking monorail

 Don Yenko in 1960 or 61

 BMW bike, great photo

 What board tracks were... huge gaps between the boards! Looks just like the 1922 Indy racing Frontenac
I posted last November... wire wheels, not that common

 Drifting around a corner in a Delage

 1910 Brighton Beach

 1903 Renault

 Generva Mudge, the first woman to have a drivers license, and was a race car driver

 Mooneyes on the helmet and headlight area, and a straight six

 the Abernathy kids, age 13 and 9, drove across country on their Indian in 1913
... notice the banner hanging from the handlebar, it says US Tires
there is a lot about their story, so late in life the youngest kid's wife and daughter put together a book. The boys were raised by their dad, and somehow got hooked on being exploited for cash prizes, ala the cross country ride, drive, or whatever - craze that newspapers were using to sell papers... beginning at age 5 and 9. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0966216601/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=giftbasketsfr03-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0966216601&adid=1DDBRAT23E67XAH6S6N3&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vanishedamericana.com%2Fkids%2Fmore-information-on-the-abernathy-kids%2F

Sliding around a corner one handed, and shifting with the other

 A Flying Merkel

 Amelia Earhart

 1906 steam shovel and locomotive, near Boston

 Burt, 1970. A better resolution image than the one like it I've posted before

 Australian that is holding his dog, sitting on what's left of his Harly with a can of VB on the tank. It burnt in the horrible wild fires that struck down so much of Australia in 2009

 Le Mans 1959, the year Carroll Shelby won

 Coolest series of amphib planes ever

The Vincent year by year visual identification guide... now why doens't Harley make one? Anyone have a link to one?

So what is the name about? A silodrome is the "Wall of Death" like the one that Fearless Elbert and his Racing Lion rode on... and that was one of his first posts... he has a lot of cool stuff I've posted years ago, like Elbert and the lion, Burt Munro, the Fonz, old race cars, old motorcycles, and so on... so much cool stuff, that the above is just a glimpse at the ones I liked the most when browsing through http://silodrome.com/ enjoy!

a quick run through the upstairs racecars was all I had before the Mullin Museum closed, I'll be back to get better photos

For a much better gallery, because she doesn't take as long to photograph each car, see Justacargal's galleries http://justacargal.blogspot.com/search/label/Mullin%20Museum