In early 1934 S.T.D. Motors granted the managing director of Automobiles Talbot SA an option later extended twelve months to 10 June 1935 to acquire all S.T.D.'s interest in the French business in consideration of the release of S.T.D. from its guarantee of the French company. The value of the guarantee was put at about £98,500. After "long and intricate negotiations" with the French company's bankers the managing director,
Antonio Lago, duly exercised his option in 1936 and went on to produce luxury cars badged Talbot and racing cars badged
Talbot-Lago until long after the second World War. He brought out a full range of new Talbots and simultaneously embarked on what turned out to be a very successful racing programme. By the time of the German Occupation the Talbot factory was fully tooled up to make
Pratt & Whitney aero engines. Headed by an Italian national, his British citizenship ignored, Lago's business did not suffer the disturbances of other motor manufacturers. "To avoid confusion cars exported to certain countries by Automobiles Talbot S.A. are now known as Lago." The postwar range contained two and four-door saloons a drophead coupé and a fixed head coupé. As usual bare chassis were available. Darracq had become a famous name in motor-racing and the new S.T.D. Motors combine cars bore a Talbot-Darracq badge.
Formula One The
4.5-litre, six-cylinder Talbot-Lago T26 was eligible for F1 competition post-war, and many examples, both factory and private, appeared in the first two years of the F1 World Championship, 1950 and 1951. Talbots came fourth and fifth in the inaugural World Championship race, the
1950 British Grand Prix, piloted by
Yves Giraud-Cabantous and
Louis Rosier respectively. The move to two-litre F2 regulations for 1952 effectively ended Talbot's F1 spell as a manufacturer.
Gallery Talbot-Lago T150 C Roadster.jpg|1938 Talbot T150C open two-seater by Figoni & Falaschi Paris - Bonhams 2013 - Talbot Lago T26 record cabriolet - 1947 - 001.jpg|1947 Talbot T26 Record cabriolet Paris - Bonhams 2013 - Talbot Lago T26 record cabriolet - 1947 - 001 (cropped).jpg|Talbot Lago T26 record cabriolet (rear detail) Talbot-Darracq GP - Flickr - exfordy.jpg|1927 Talbot-Darracq Grand Prix car 1949_Talbot_GP_26C,_6_cylinder,_4483cm3,_240hp,_260kmh,_photo_4.JPG|1949 Talbot-Lago T-26C Racing Monoplace ==References==