1937 Peugeot 302 DS Darl’mat Sport

Description 1937 Peugeot 302 DS Darl’mat Sport Coachwork by Pourtout Chassis Number 705.501 Dark Blue with Burgundy Leather Interior One of the most inspiring and captivating art and design movements of the 20th century was captured in the Art Deco era. Unlike other movements, Art Deco influenced fashion, graphics, furniture, architecture, and automobiles. Nowhere was this more evident than in Europe, particularly in France where the earlier Art Nouveau movement blended artistry and industry, laying the foundation for the fluidity, form, and modernism that would culminate in Art Deco. Perfectly poised in the booming 1920s, Art Deco seized upon rapidly growing new wealth and scalable production technologies to bring about some of the most dramatic and memorable artifacts of the 20th century. Peugeot, officially recognized as the oldest automobile manufacturer in the world, began more than 200 years ago as a family business manufacturing various tools, bladed instruments, grinders, and bicycles. By the late 1800s, Armand Peugeot had become enchanted by emerging automobile technology. Eager to produce a car of their own, Peugeot licensed Daimler engines to build its first automobile. Production continued into the early 1900s incorporating innovative technologies, eventually developing their own engines while becoming pioneers of automobile racing, including participation at the Indianapolis 500 races in the 1920s. Although the first world war slowed progress, Peugeot continued into the 1920s amassing Grand Prix wins while growing their production capacity for volume manufacturing. Emile Darl’mat, an established Peugeot distributor in Paris, who specialized in offering modified sporting designs and improved engines for their cars, approached Peugeot in 1936 with the concept of a racing partnership involving the successful Peugeot 302. Though a saloon platform, Darl’mat conceived of a sports car powered by the more powerful 402 series 2.0 liter engine together with the larger 402 front and rear axles. The approved project began with Peugeot providing the modified chassis and commissioning the renowned Parisian coachbuilder Marcel Pourtout of Carrossier Pourtout who engaged in-house designer Georges Paulin, later to become one of the most celebrated designers of the century, for the final design. Because of their Parisian location and entirely French staff, Paulin was highly influenced by both Art Deco motifs and industrial streamlining. A prototype low slung roadsters was built with no doors, a low profile windscreen, and distinct racing character, far more daring than what Darl’mat had previously offered to its customers. Its performance at the Montlhéry racing circuit in 1936 demonstrated that Darl’mat was moving in the right direction. The first series of 12 roadsters, based on the enhanced prototype design, was launched for selected customers. Although Pourtout and Paulin developed two available body styles in this period (coupé and roadster, with the cabriolet arriving later), Darl’mat had bigger goals for the roadster; the team was aiming for the most impressive proving ground of the times – Le Mans. To get there, Darl’mat needed to finance the Le Mans effort using his own resources. Typical for the times, the first cars made were sold to finance costly racing efforts which, upon inviting racing successes, would justify the expense by boosting sales of customers’ cars. 1937 would prove to be an historic year. In 1936, Le Mans was dominated by German entrants Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union. French pride was at stake, particularly given the war years. The project demanded the best from all assembled, especially in the drivetrain. Uprated by the factory, each 2-liter engine featured dual carburetors, larger oil sump capacity, and more robust capacity radiators. Each car was also fitted with a concealed spare tire, twin fuel fillers, road lamps, and finished with distinct front fender livery to distinguish each car during competition when viewed from the front. With caution and good fortune on their side, all three cars finished, with the first two cars completing 203 laps at an average of 71 mph, most notably with the first of the three cars finishing 2nd in class, and 7th overall. The second car finished 8th, and car #27 finished in 10th place. This Darl’mat, chassis number 705.501, was very likely the first example of the initial 12 roadsters constructed in the series that included the three Le Mans roadsters for entrance to the 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Although 705.501 was constructed prior to the 1937 Le Mans race, and it has been previously credited as one of the three cars raced at Le Mans, there are no currently available records attributing 705.501 to period competition and no definitive Le Mans or Peugeot records that correlate chassis numbers with the three 1937 Le Mans cars. However, 705.501, the first series car, has unique features distinctly recognized by renowned Peugeot Darl’mat historian Lionel Perrette (members of Les amis de Darl’mat) as very likely the first example of the Darl’mat roadster; becoming a key vehicle in the design and engineering of the subsequent Le Mans cars. 705.501 is recognized without question as the seminal artifact of the Darl’mat lineage deriving the iconic Art Deco design while fostering the forthcoming success achieved by the 1937 Le Mans entrants. Remarkably, and very likely attributed to the protected private ownership of 705.501, it remained in largely preserved original condition and undamaged for decades. The well documented history spanning initial build and sale to the first owner is chronicled in numerous reference documents gathered from multiple sources. 705.501 begins with the chassis manufactured by Peugeot Sochaux and delivered on February 26, 1937. Pourtout coachwork followed, completed in April 1937 (probably commission 1429 on Pourtout records) and subsequently delivered to customer/car dealer on April 20, 1937 (probably M. F