The Lancia Loraymo was a design study by industrial designer Raymond Loewy, which followed the BMW 507 (1957; Autocult 06004). The car was presented at the Paris Motor Show in 1960 and is based on the chassis of the Lancia Flaminia. The 2.5-liter V6 engine also comes from this model, but received an increase in performance from Nardi & Danese. With three Weber double carburettors and a modified camshaft, the car developed 150 hp (instead of the original 119 hp). Loewy himself drove the prototype in everyday life for a few more years before selling it. After the car was decommissioned and the original engine was lost, the car returned to Lancia in Italy in the 1970s. Here the car was restored and again fitted with a suitable engine. The Lancia Loraymo is still part of the fleet of the Fiat Group's works museum in Turin. It is exhibited at various classic car events across Europe.

Elegant and streamlined, the Delahaye 135 M Coach Gascogne line is the work of French designer Philippe Charbonneaux. Rare, beautiful and powerful thanks to its 110 hp six-cylinder engine and its Cotal gearbox with ingenious handling, this 135 M with an enviable history is a superb opportunity to enjoy the myth of the French brand.

Carrossier Louis Dubos / Dubos Fréres was situated in Neuilly-sur-Seine near Paris. The company is best known for their work for Avions Voisin and Talbot Lago. In 1945, they moved to Puteaux and soon became one of Talbot's favored suppliers of semi-custom coachwork. According to the Gascogne registery only twelve Gascogne coaches are listed and known to date. Eight would still be in France, two in Germany, one in Russia and one in Sweden.

Barn find: The Frejat body has been found again!

To build this model car, we did research over a period of almost two years. Again and again we were able to add a piece of the puzzle to the overall picture. It started when our oldest customer (now 99 years old) gave us a sale advertisment of the car from a magazine (US$300,000) in the summer of 2019. Then we researched on the internet, bought and translated a French magazine with an interesting article, we also phoned the University in Stockholm and bought and translated a Swedish language document and the book "Mercedes-Benz 1930-Talets Kompressorvagnar i Norden" - both by Jan Melin. Google Translator was a helpful partner for us. Last but not least, our oldest customer gave us another later sale ad from another magazine (US$ 485,000). The final piece of the research puzzle was in place: 
 
The original Mercedes Benz 540k car was shown at an exhibition in Brussels on 04 January 1939. On 07 July 1941, the car was registered in Stockholm for Count Fredrik Wachtmeister with the registration number "A 976". In the turmoil of war, the trace is lost until 1947. From the archives of the French coachbuilder Frejat (Pont-du-Chateau) come two black and white photos with this unique 'Art Déco pontoon body' and the registration number "9606 NH 6". At this time, the front headlights were still integrated into the wings. Since the car has only one exhaust, it can be assumed that the 500K engine no. 113675 was already installed at this time. This engine comes from a 500K-Mercedes Cabriolet C, which was sold to Switzerland in 1935. In the post-war period, whatever was available was used. Practical aspects beat perfection.
 
In 1947/1948, the Mercedes was sold to Venezuela. An American later bought the car there and brought it to the United States of America in 1954. In the 1960s, a doctor from Florida bought the Mercedes and sold it to the Drottningholm Collection in Sweden in 1989. Who replaced the integrated front headlights with separate front headlights - as implemented on our model - is not known. In 1992 the Mercedes was sold to an investment company. They replaced the Frejat body with a roadster body. This presumably seemed more lucrative! What happened to the Frejat body was not known until now. Until now, because suddenly we received an email: 

Hello Mr. Sabrautzky, I have just read the article on your model car. I bought the body (without chassis) about 7 years ago and it is still in my possession. You are welcome to contact me by phone. Many greetings from .......

I could hardly believe it, made a phone call, and was on my way a little later. The barn door opened and suddenly this expressive body was standing in front of me: equipped with different headlights, additional lights on the mudguards, in wine red, and without a radiator grille. The radiator grille is part of the chassis. A shiver ran down my spine. And it wasn't because of the grey-wet wind that was blowing that day. And suddenly a circle was closed. My journey was over. The new owner found an advertisement in Mobile.de about seven years ago. He is a master coachbuilder himself and immediately took the offered body into his heart. He drove to Landshut and bought this gem from the estate of an entrepreneur. At that time, he did not know that it was the Frejat body. He only found this out when he happened to come across our website www.autopioneer.de and read the story. The journey of the Frejat body will soon continue, as it is looking for a new owner. Seriously interested parties are welcome to contact me. Last but not least: I just got off the phone with my oldest customer. He was thrilled. There, too, a circle has been closed. 

Who would have thought that a model car would once again close a historical gap in automobile history? We succeeded in doing so with the Maybach SW 38 Heinrich Müller. And we succeeded with the two Opels: 1937 Opel Super 6 for Georg von Opel and 1937 Opel Blitz 1.5 - 23 COE. If this is not a terrific motivation to tackle the next model car, what is? Stay curious!

One of French motoring's most flamboyant figures, Louis Delage catered almost exclusively to the ever dwindling niche market of the super rich. The almost inevitable bankruptcy was filed in 1935. Delage enthusiasts feared that under the new ownership the famous oval badge would simply be stuck to existing Delahaye products. This was certainly the case for the new range of six cylinder models launched in 1935. Fortunately the Delahaye executives recognised the beauty and quality of Delage's own eight cylinder engine. For the D8-100 and D8-120 models that followed in 1936 a new, Delage exclusive eight cylinder engine was developed. These top-of-the-range machines did employ a Delahaye sourced chassis.

Just like most luxury cars of the day, the new D8 was available as a rolling chassis only. The customer could then have the car clothed by his (or her) coach-builder of choice. Chapron was the natural pick for a more understated design, while the likes of Pourtout and Letourneur & Marchand provided the more extravagant bodies. Surprisingly few D8s were sent to Figoni & Falaschi for their metalwork.

The unknown Car

In the German history of Ford, there is a car about which historians remained silent as yet. Apart from two contemporary photos, there are no literary documents about the prototype, which was set on wheels for the big advertised, but never held, long distance race from Berlin to Rome in the autumn of 1938. Since the regulations for this prestigious race, which was initiated by the highest authorities, only allowed cars built between 1936 and 1938, the participating manufacturers created extra-fast passenger cars within a short time. As the major part of the competition should took place on the political flagship project of the “autobahn”, a powerful engine and an aerodynamic body were the top priority. While the assembled cars of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Auto-Union, and above all Porsche are well known, the car planned by Ford Germany fell completely into oblivion.

The car was powered by a powerful V8 engine. Regarding the bodywork, the Cologne-based company relied on the cooperation with the company ‘Karosseriewerk Weidenhausen’ from Frankfurt. Probably at the beginning of 1938, the order of an extremely aerodynamic body for the car with which Ford planned to participate in the prestigious German/Italian long-distance race was placed. Influenced by the current findings of vehicle aerodynamics at the time, Karl Weidenhausen designed a teardrop-shaped look. The interior offered space for only two passengers; driver and co-driver. Striking for the car body design was the most widely abandonment of any interruptions in the entire shape. Unfortunately, the prototype did not survive and also historical documents are apparently no longer available. Therefore it also remains questionable how the Cologne company continued to use the sporty two-seater after the long-distance race was cancelled only one week before the planned start on September 26 in 1938 without any explanation.

As big plans failed

The driving forces behind the founding of FRM in the first half of the 1930s were Stefan Fischer and Otto Reimann. FRM was a abbreviation and stood for ‘Fischer Reimann Motoren’.

Stefan Fischer brought technical knowledge to the company. He had studied vehicle design. Through his studies and related interests, he made Paul Jaray’s acquaintance. Paul Jaray considered Stefan Fischer as a promising talent. Merchant Otto Reimann saw the potential but faced the task of financing the formation of a company. The two men were able to convince the bank ‘IG Selig’ of their plans and they provide with the necessary capital. Seven men initially found employment at FRM and devoted themselves to building the first prototype.

In 1935, the test vehicle was put on its wheels. The gentlemen were satisfied with their work towards the turn of the year, so that from spring 1936 longer test drives – including to Berlin – were possible. One of the first trips led Stefan Fischer to Switzerland to Paul Jaray, presumably to demonstrate the car to the master of vehicle aerodynamics and probably also the mentor of Stefan Fischer. 

From a technical point of view, there was not much left that excluded the starting of production, but the political development of those years became more and more of a decisive factor. Stefan Fischer was Jewish and in 1938 he finally decided to turn his back on his country and flee to Great Britain.