Marque revivals have been a common thread of the automotive world for a very long time, and the most recent to make a comeback is Delage. In its original incarnation, which lasted from 1905 to 1953, it was one of many French makers that led the way in the pioneering era of the motor car. So how do you recapture that magic after a hiatus of almost seven decades?
Delage makes a comeback with ambitious hypercar
&width=1600)
Entrepreneur Laurent Tapie laid out his plans for Delage’s comeback in 2020, and now that potential has been realised with a running prototype that has made its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard. And what a spectacle the D12 hypercar is. Looking every inch the race car/jet fighter mash-up, it’s a V12 hybrid with tandem seating and its sights set firmly on clinching the Nürburgring lap record for road-going cars.
Video: $2.3 million Delage D12 makes world debut at Goodwood
Delage’s road-going offerings were highly prestigious, and it mirrored that approach on track. Delage cites the 15 S8 of 1927 as the D12’s spiritual forebear, the car that won the World Championship in its debut year and went on to remain competitive on the voiturette class for more than half of the next decade.
&width=1200)
1 / 6
&width=1200)
2 / 6
&width=1200)
3 / 6
&width=1200)
4 / 6
&width=1200)
5 / 6
&width=1200)
6 / 6
There are plans to build only 30 D12, with 20 destined for the United States and the remaining ten for the rest of the world. Such exclusivity will come at a price – it starts from $2.3million. It has a mid-mounted V12 and pushrod suspension that has been inspired by Formula One. That’s not the only connection to top-flight motorsport. The test and development driver is 1997 F1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve who is working with a team of engineers from motorsport.
Performance claims include a top speed of 233mph and a 0-62mph sprint of 2.8 seconds. Two iterations will be available from launch. The GT has 1,100PS (809kW) with a weight of 1,400kg, while the Club reduces both figures to 1,010PS (743kW) and 1,310kg respectively. Watching it perform on the Hill at Goodwood was our first chance to see how it may fare at the Nürburgring. Do more conventional (relative term...) hypercars have something to fear?
You can catch the Delage D12 and much more at the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed by clicking here to watch our live stream!
Photography by Phil Hay.
&width=75)
&width=75)
&width=75)
&width=75)