1938 Talbot Lago T23 Baby
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION
It’s thought that this Talbot-Lago T23 was delivered new in 1938 to racing driver Louis Rosier, alongside a T150 SS Coupé by Figoni et Falaschi. French ace Rosier would go on to serve with the Resistance during the war, before establishing himself as one of the leading drivers of the late 1940s and early ’50s.
Although he was an excellent Grand Prix driver, his most famous success came in sports cars, when he won the 1950 Le Mans 24 Hours in a Talbot-Lago T26 GS. He drove the endurance classic almost single-handed, his son Jean-Louis completing only a couple of laps as his co-driver.
This T23 three-position cabriolet was constructed on the short-wheelbase ‘Baby’ chassis and features a 4-litre, six-cylinder engine driving through a Wilson pre-selector gearbox. Built at the Talbot-Lago factory at Suresnes, the bodywork was designed by Giuseppe Figoni, of renowned coachbuilder Figoni et Falaschi. As such, it features trademark Figoni details such as the ‘teardrop’ front and rear wings – the Italian maestro was also responsible for the sublime Talbot-Lago T150 ‘Teardrop’ coupés.
Although little is known about the early life of this T23 cabriolet, it was later restored over the course of 20 years by Andre Lapines. A mechanical engineer and marque enthusiast, Lapines rebuilt it from the ground up, paying particular attention to originality. As part of the process, he rebuilt the six-cylinder engine and Wilson gearbox, and the finished car was said to be ‘show quality’.
In 1996, it was acquired by Jack Stromers of Monterey. For the first part of its journey to California, he drove it some 800 miles through Europe, including crossing the Alps. It was then sold to a Dutch collector in 2004 and returned to Europe, where it won its class at the 2010 Concours d’Elegance at Paleis Het Loo.
This Talbot-Lago T23 has continued to win concours prizes with subsequent owners, and is offered for sale in exceptional condition, from the leather and wood in the stylish cockpit to the flowing lines of its coachwork. It’s easy to see why these Suresnes-built cars have become so coveted.
MODEL HISTORY
Italian-born Antonio Lago had already led a fascinating life by the time he was brought in to help rescue Automobiles Talbot SA, which was in serious financial trouble by the early 1930s. The entrepreneurial Lago would end up acquiring the business himself following the collapse of parent company Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq, and in the years either side of the war, his revitalised Talbot-Lago concern built an enviable reputation thanks to a combination of stylish road cars and motorsport success.
In the latter part of the 1930s, Lago – working with engineer Walter Becchia – introduced an updated range of models that featured an array of different wheelbases and engine options. The 4-litre T23, for example, was offered as the short-wheelbase ‘Baby’, the mid-length ‘Major’ and the long-wheelbase ‘Master’. It featured independent front suspension and a Wilson pre-selector gearbox, both elements that were carried over from earlier, pre-Lago Talbots.
The T23 was offered with coupé or cabriolet coachwork, and famous owners included racing driver Philippe Étancelin, who was given one in 1938 as payment for being part of the works team. Lago knew well the importance of motorsport in terms of publicising a marque, and in 1937 his cars won the Tourist Trophy at Donington Park and the French Grand Prix at Montlhéry.
Talbot-Lago continued building cars after the war, initially with the 4.5-litre T26, then the 2.6-litre Baby, and finally the 2.4-litre, four-cylinder T14. There was more motorsport success, too, thanks to the T26C, which notched up significant victories in both Grand Prix events and sports car racing.
It wasn’t long, however, before sales plummeted and Lago found himself coming under increasing financial pressure. The marque limped through much of the 1950s before being sold to Simca in 1959, a sad end for a name that had briefly belonged in the same sentence as the likes of Bugatti and Delahaye.