The sole-surviving 1949 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Coupé by Dubos Frères is coming up for sale for the first time since 2009. The fascinating car, once owned by famed US racer and car importer Otto Zipper, is to be sold at Broad Arrows’ inaugural 70-car sale at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este on 24-25 May, although the actual auction takes place at the neighbouring Villa Erba.
Estimated to make €1.2-1.5million, chassis T26GS110102 car is one of two originally built in the distinctive coupé style by the Dubos brothers and is the only one known to survive. Talbot made only 32 short-wheelbase (265cm) underslung T26 Grand Sports packing the brilliant, hemispherical combustion chambered 4.5-litre twin-cam that Anthony Lago developed with Carlo Marchetti.
The advanced car has independent front suspension, worm and sector steering and Wilson pre-selecter transmission. The Dubos Frères bodywork was designed by Carlo Delaisse and so pleased Anthony lago that an illustration of it was used in the factory brochure.
This actual car was commissioned by the works and initially entered into concours, including winning a Grand Prix in the 1949 Concours d’Elegance du Bois de Boulogne in Paris. Its first owner was Wight Whiting, who bought it in September 1949.
Shortly after it cropped up at International Motors in Hollywood, California and m oved onto Otto Zipper’s Precision Motors on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and 26th Street in Santa Monica.
Many years later it was with Southern California Ferrari restorer Richard Straman who started a restoration before selling it to Jerome Sauls, proprietor of the famous Ritz Garage in Warrington, Pennsylvania, in 1997. During Sauls’s tenure it had a full restoration before appearing at Pebble Beach after which it moved back to Europe and was seen at both Rétromobile and Villa d’Este.
Chassis T26GS110102 is currently owned by a well known Talbot-Lago authority, still wears its original body and has matching-numbers chassis, engine, and transmission. You can read the full catalogue description here.
Other highlights of the sale include a1938 Talbot-Lago T150 C Lago Spéciale Teardrop Coupé (Estimate: €4.5-6.5m), 1948 Ferrari 166 Spyder Corsa by Ansaloni (€5.5-7.5m)1939 Lagonda V12 Rapide James Young Drophead Coupé (€600-700.000) 1965 Ferrari 275 GTS (€1.5-1.8m) and 1954 Siata 208S Motto Spider (€1.5-1.7m).
Joe Twyman, VP of Sales for Broad Arrow’s EMEA Region, said: ‘We are thrilled to be presenting some of the most historically significant classic cars at our inaugural Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este auction. Being entrusted with the first ever public sale of the Ferrari 166 Spyder Corsa is an incredible privilege, and testament to the expertise within our team and the prestige of the highly respected Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. Its presence at the auction along with many other coveted automobiles will make this one of the most important sales of the year.’
