The D6 was introduced in 1930 as a replacement for the
Delage DM, but in view of the range of six-cylinder engines with which it was offered it could also be seen as a replacement for the smaller engined
Delage DR. In 1930 the D6 was one in a range of three Delage models on offer. The other two were the slightly lighter (but still six-cylinder powered)
DS and, at the top of the range, the very large
D8 launched the previous year. All three faced strong economic headwinds in the wake of the
1929 stockmarket crashes.
Delage D6 (1930 – 1933) The original Delage D6 came with a choice of two chassis lengths, these being or . The 6-cylinder engine had a displacement of 3045 cc. Listed maximum power was , produced at 3,600 rpm. By the time production of the original Delage D6 ended, in 1933, 1160 had been produced. File:Delage_D6-Long_Chapron_(1930)_left.jpg|1930 Delage D6 Long Chapron File:Delage_D6_Long_Chapron_(1930)_rear_left.jpg|1930 Delage D6 Long Chapron File:Delage_(9014196027).jpg|1929 Delage D6 DM Guillaume Busson roadster (chassis 28 055) File:Delage_(9014197791).jpg|1929 Delage D6 DM Guillaume Busson roadster (chassis 28 055)
Delage D6-11 (1932 – 1934) A complementary model, the D6-11, was presented at the
26th Paris Motor Show in October 1932, although production only got under way the following Spring. The D6-11 was a more economical version of the original DE6. The “-11" suffix referred to the
fiscal horsepower which was a function of the cylinder diameters and determined the level of annual car tax to be paid by owners in France. The 2001 cc 6-cylinder engine came with a listed maximum power output of at 4,000 rpm. In 1935 Delage retained a separate management, but production was transferred to the
Delahaye factory, in the
13th arrondissement of Paris. The Delage range was rearranged in order to facilitate the sharing of production facilities. As part of this process, the Delage D6-65 was replaced by the Delage D6-60. It was available only with a wheelbase, shared with the four-cylinder Delayahe Models such as the 134N. Delages retained their own engine designs and the D6-60 came with a straight 6 of 2335 cc which was increased to 2528 cc at the Motor Dhow in October 1936 in time for the 1937 model year. Maximum power now rose from to at 3,500 rpm. At the end of 1937 the D6-60 was taken out of production. File:Delage_D6-65_Allongee_(23110313384).jpg|1935 Delage D6-65 Allongee File:Delage_D6-60_Roadster_(1937).jpg|1937 Delage Type D6-60 Citroën Roadster (chassis 50 484) File:1936_Delage_D6-60_(exfordy).jpg|1936 Type D6-60 S Letourneur & Marchand berline (chassis 50 353) File:Delage_motif_-_Flickr_-_exfordy.jpg| File:1937_Delage_D6.60_Cabriolet_IMG_1045_-_Flickr_-_nemor2.jpg|1937 Delage Type D6-60 Chapron cabriolet (chassis 50 479)
Delage D6-80 (1935 – 1937) Also introduced in time for 1936 was the Delage D6-80. Initially this was powered by a 3227 cc in line 6-cylinder engine for which maximum power of is listed. The D6-80 was a long vehicle. Like other Delages at this time the D6-80 shared its wheelbase – in this case of – with a Delahaye. In the case of cars and the accompanying information presented at the 1936 motor show for 1937 cars, the Delage D6-80 also shared its 3557 cc six-cylinder engine with a Delahaye, although the switch to a Delahaye engine was not immediately implemented in respect of the cars provided for sale. Many things had changed in the intervening years, but post-war Delages, like the Delahayes, still had their steering wheels on the right, The bespoke body builders had less work now than in the 1930s, but their craft based methods enabled them to respond more immediately to new styling trends than the volume automakers, and many of the Delages from the late 1940s and early 1950s look strangely modern when compared to the early post war products from Renault, Peugeot and Citroën. The coach builders were willing and able more immediately to copy and build on the developments in car design that during the early 1940s had been more apparent in North America than in Europe. Nevertheless, the Delage D6-3-litre of 1948 – 1954 came with exactly the same that had been standard on successive D6s since 1935. A longer was also available for longer bodies such as those for Limousine style cars. 1954 marked the exit from auto-production of both brands. The
political context and the state of the post-war French economy were hostile to large cars in France. In 1954 even
Henry Ford gave up on French auto-production, selling
his business to
Simca. By 1955
Delahaye had been taken over by
Hotchkiss whose own business now survived, at least for the time being, not from producing luxury cars but on the basis of rebuilding and, by now increasingly building from scratch,
Jeep based vehicles.
Delage D6 Olympic (1946 – 1949) The D6 3-litre came in its standard form with only one
carburettor; in 1946 a performance version, the Delage D6 Olympic, was presented. The Olympic used the same engine block, but was fitted with a triple carburettor fuel feed system. This gave rise to an output of , now with the engine spinning up to 4,500 rpm, and corresponding with a top speed of approximately 140 km/h (87 mph). This may have been in connection with the 3-litre Delage racing cars which were much in evidence during the 1948 racing season. However, in 1949 this performance version of the D6 was withdrawn. == External links ==