1938 Talbot-Lago T-26 SS Roadster Chassis 90203

This car, chassis number 90203, was the third and the final example built. The car made its competition debut at the 1939 edition of the 24 Hours of LeMans where it was piloted by Helde and Nime for Luigi Chinetti. After World War II, it raced to third in the Torino Grand Prix by Charles Pozzi, who would later become Ferrari’s representative in France.Chassis 90203 began life as Chassis 82930 and was the first in a series of special Talbot-Lago race cars bodied by luxury coachbuilder Joseph Figoni in 1936. Figoni styled the car with an open race body like that of a Type 150-C-SS with a short wheelbase chassis. The car was intended for the Talbot-Lago racing team while similarly bodied cars were marketed to private individuals. Although engineer and founder Tony Lago was dissatisfied with Figoni’s first design, the second body was approved, and it appeared with its new styling on the Figoni & Falaschi stand at the 1937 Paris Auto Salon.Under Rene Dreyfus direction, the chassis was renumbered as 82933 after the factory installed a new 4.5-liter motor (number 45003) in 1938. The following year the factory again updated the chassis number, this time to 90203, to reflect a new model designation of Type 26-SS. For a manufacturer such as Talbot-Lago, chassis number changes were standard procedure when updating models and styles. Chassis 90203 was eventually sold to Luigi Chinetti’s racing team, and it raced at Le Mans in 1939 before being put in storage for the duration of World War II. The original coachwork designed by Figoni was destroyed after the war, and a new body was installed that had a postwar look more in keeping with the automotive styles of the time.