1939 Delahaye Type 165 Figoni & Falaschi Cabriolet (Best in Show Winner)

A very rare 1939 Delahaye Type 165 from the Petersen Automotive Museum arriving at and leaving the 2024 San Marino Motor Classic at Lacy Park, where it won the Best in Show (Pre-War) award. This car, chassis no. 60744, features Cabriolet bodywork by Figoni et Falaschi and was built for and displayed at the 1939 New York World's Fair. In 1985 it was purchased in Hawaii by Peter Mullin, founder of the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, CA, who also located the car's original 4.5-liter V12 engine in France. The car underwent a restoration in which its chassis and engine were reunited and was displayed multiple times at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, most recently in 2023 when it won First in Class (Figoni Centennial) and was a nominee for Best of Show. After Peter Mullin's passing in September 2023, the Mullin Automotive Museum announced its closure and this Delahaye was among four cars from the collection donated to the Petersen Automotive Museum of which Mullin was a founding board member.

I was casually chatting with one of the guys unloading this car and commented that it's a classic example of what a Best in Show winner should look like. Maybe I should have bought a lottery ticket before the judges made their rounds. This car is the prime example of a "sculpture on wheels"; it's so beautiful that some considered it overly sensual and provocative. I'm not sure why the car needed to be towed into the show, but to see it being driven on the road under natural sunlight at the end was an otherworldly experience. Combine this sinfully beautiful rolling work of art with its powerful V12 engine and rich history, and it would have been no less of a sin if it didn't receive a trophy.

Do you think this rare Delahaye deserved the Best in Show award? Leave a comment on YouTube and let me know!