Osian's Auction Catalogue Automobilia The Art of the Historical Vehicle | October 2018

1930 Delage D8 Founded in 1905 by Louis Delage in the Paris suburb of Levallois- Perret, Delage initially was just an assembly plant, buying engines and chassis from other manufacturers and designing its own “luxury voiturette” concept, and completing the car with bodies from local coachbuilders Repusseau and Kelsch. But the attraction of motorsport beckoned and soon Delage was competing in the Coupe des Voiturettes, a competition for smaller cars, with its own car, and winning the Grand Prix des Voiturettes in 1908. After wins at the 1911 and 1913 Grands Prix ( Boulogne and Le Mans respectively) and a fantastic victory at the 1914 Indianapolis 500, it wasn’t till 1923 when Delage went back to top level motorsport, with Louis Delage commissioning engineer Charles Planchon to design a fabulous 2-litre V12 that went on to finish second in the European Grand Prix at Lyon in 1924 and then win the Grand Prix de l’ACF at Montlhery, near Paris, in 1925. In 1929, Delage unveiled the D8, an eight-cylinder flagship model. One of the most refined cars from the period, the Delage D8 embodied the time-worn euphemism that Hollywood star Peter Ustinov – a Delage addict – had proffered: “One drives, of course, an Alfa Romeo; one is driven in a Rolls, but one gives only a Delage to one’s favourite mistress.” The D8 on these pages was one of the stars at the 1930 edition of the London motor show, at Olympia, with very elegant body by France’s most flamboyant coachbuilder Joseph Figoni. Maharaja Yashwantrao Holkar of Indore acquired the car, having seen it at the motor show, but before having it shipped to India, he had the car repainted a unique combination of glistening ochre and black. Acquired about two decades ago by Bangalore-based collector Dr Ravi Prakash, the car has been restored back to its former glory. 1932 Lancia Astura racing special Despite the fact that the early history of this stunning-looking Lancia racer seems to have been lost in the mist of time, this car is unquestionably one of India’s more significant historic vehicles. Since the images of the chassis and the suspension components of this car was shared with certain Lancia aficionados, most specifically, automotive historian and marque expert Paulo Giusti, we can say with certainty that the underpinnings of this car – or, to put it more appropriately, the beginnings of this bolide – was a Lancia Astura. Thus, the origins of this car surely dates back to the early 1930s. And it is quite possible that the conversion to this much-modified racing version was done during the late 1930s itself, or, at the latest, in the 1940s, as by the early Fifties we have photographic evidence of this car in this shape, in racing action, in and around Calcutta. Incidentally, this car may very well be one of the oldest surviving Asturas in the world. When exactly did the car come into India is not known, but an Englishman apparently raced the car in Calcutta in the late 1940s, early 1950s. This Lancia is known to have competed against other serious racing machines such as an Allard J2, several SS and Jaguars, including Jackie Shroff’s SS 100 Jaguar, as well as a Bentley, a modified Lagonda, even an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza. Decades later this Lancia was ‘rediscovered’ in Hyderabad, where it was restored. The new owner, Kumar Verma, then migrated to the US, but before that he sold the car to Mumbai-based collector Harit Trivedi, who has participated in several events in Mumbai and elsewhere in this wonderful vestige of Indian racing history. 1933 Minerva Type AL The most famous carmaker out of Belgium, Minerva used to make cars as luxurious and impressive as Rolls-Royce in the 1920s and early 1930s. Perhaps not all that surprising given that a certain Charles S Rolls embarked upon his automotive business by being a Minerva dealer in the UK before he found himself investing in a car manufacturing venture with a certain Henry Royce! Post-WW I Minerva launched a range of luxury models and the range expanded to include in 1930, two straight-eight engine models, the 4.0-litres AP and the 6.6-litres AL. The flagship AL was extremely well made, but the timing and the pricing ensured that very few got ordered: a maximum of 50 may have been made, though the number sold, it seems, totals up to just 33. Asmuch asMinerva was the favouredmarque for the King of Belgium, Indian royalty too was aware of the marque as over the years not an insignificant number of them were imported. It must have been the reputation of top level quality that may have prompted the Raja Sahib of Mahmudabad to acquire the AL featured here. But with India’s independence and partition, the Raja Sahib immigrated to Pakistan, and the car stayed on in India, and as it was part of evacuee property, the car couldn’t be sold. The issue was resolved only in the mid-1990s, when collector Ranjit Malik managed to acquire the car. After about ten years with Malik, the car was acquired by prominent lawyer and Delhi-based collector, Diljeet Titus. This Vanden Plas-bodied Minerva Type AL is perhaps