Delahaye was a family-owned automobile manufacturing company, founded by Émile Delahaye in 1894 in Tours, France. Manufacturing was moved to Paris following incorporation in 1898 with two marriage-related brothers-in-law, George Morane and Leon Desmarais, as Emile Delahaye's equal partners. The company built a low volume line of limited production luxury cars with coachbuilt bodies; trucks; utility and commercial vehicles; buses; and fire-trucks. Delahaye made a number of technical innovations, particularly in its early years. After establishing a racing department in 1932, the company came to prominence in France in the mid-to-late 1930s, first with the International record-breaking Type 138; then, the Type 135 that famously evolved into the special short-wheelbase sports-racing Type 135CS; followed by the V12 types 145 and 155 racecars. Many races were won, and records set. The company faced setbacks due to the Second World War, and was taken over by amalgamation with arch competitor Hotchkiss in 1954. Both were absorbed by the large Brandt manufacturing organization, within months, with automotive products ended. Delahaye closed forever at the end of 1954, taking Delage along with it.
History
Formative years
Engineer Émile Delahaye began experimenting with belt-driven cars in 1894, while he was manager of the Brethon Foundry and Machine-works in Tours, France. These experiments encouraged him to acquire the foundry and machine-works, so that Monsieur Brethon could retire. Emile soon entered his automobiles in the 1896 Paris–Marseille–Paris race, and the 1897 Paris–Dieppe race, followed in 1898 by the Marseilles–Nice rally, the Course de Périgeux, and the Paris–Amsterdam–Paris race.
thumb|Delahaye Type 0, manufactured 1902
thumb|A 1906 Delahaye hearse
Delahaye's automotive company was incorporated in 1898 with investors George Morane – who had driven one of Delahaye's cars in the Marseilles–Nice rally – and Morane's brother-in-law Leon Desmarais. The company moved its manufacturing from Tours to Paris, to a former hydraulic machinery plant owned by the Morane family. Charles Weiffenbach was made operations manager.
thumb|Delahaye-Farcot type 32 [[pumper truck|pumper]]
Desmarais and Morane took control of the company when Émile Delahaye retired in 1901; Weiffenbach took over from them in 1906. Delahaye's chief design-engineer Amédée Varlet invented and pioneered the V6 engine in the 1911 Type 44. In 1936, Delahaye ran four cars (based on the Type 135) in the Ulster TT, placing second to Bugatti, and entered four at the Belgian 24 Hours, finishing 2-3-4-5 behind an Alfa Romeo.
In 1937, René Le Bègue and Julio Quinlin won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Delahaye. Delahaye also ran first and second at Le Mans.
The new face of the postwar Delahaye was styled in-house by industrial designer Philippe Charbonneaux. Production of the outdated pre-war Type 135 and 148L was resumed in 1946, to restart cash flow and because the Type 175 and its two longer-wheelbased versions were not ready for introduction.
A one-ton capacity light truck (later sharing its 3.5-litre six-cylinder overhead-valve engine with the company's Type 235 luxury cars) made its debut at the 1949 Paris Motor Show as the Type 171. A merger was discussed with Hotchkiss, which was facing similar problems. On 19 March 1954, an agreement was signed by Delahaye president Pierre Peigney and Hotchkiss president Paul Richard. Both men were qualified mechanical engineers, with differing talents, and both stayed with the company for their entire working career. Weiffenbach became the operations manager in 1906, while Varlet focused on technical engineering and manufacturing advances. In 1932, 42-year-old Jean François was hired as chief design-engineer. Amadee Varlet was over eighty by then, and past his creative prime, but his earned respect caused him to be promoted to head up the new drawing office, and set up and manage the new racing department, assisted by much younger engineer Jean François.
Pierre Peigney, a family relative, was the president, but his was more a formal role, since it was Charles Weiffenbach who had been mandated by the partners to run the company, literally single-handedly.
This he did, including after orchestrating the merger in 1954 with Hotchkiss, a prime competitor. President Peigney signed for Delahaye, and president Richard signed for Hotchkiss. Neither company had the strength and resources to avoid being absorbed by the gigantic Brandt group of companies. Delahaye vanished into extinction in late 1954.
Notable models
right|thumb|1899 built vehicle at 2006 rally
- – 1895–1901
- Delahaye 44 – 1911–1914 – first production V6