Lot details
Registration No: WXG 923
Chassis No: 680-82388
Mot Expiry: Exempt

- Rare and elegant Grande Routiere with usine 'Decouvrable' coachwork

- 3-litre OHV straight-six engine, Cotal electromagnetic transmission

- Never allowed to deteriorate to the point of needing restoration

Further Info:

This supremely elegant two-door Decouvrable typifies the pre-war 'Grande Routiere' class of rapid, luxurious touring cars made by prime French manufacturers Delage, Delahaye, Talbot Lago and Hotchkiss. They were designed to make short shrift of the country's poplar-lined Routes Nationales and invariably featured straight-six engines of around 3-litres capacity coupled to Cotal electromagnetic manual transmissions.

The sale car was constructed at the onset of war, when Hotchkiss rapidly ceased the manufacturer of motorcars in order to concentrate on munitions. It is likely that 'WXG 923' survived the conflict secreted in a company facility outside Auxerre, and was not sold to its first owner until 1947. He was a wealthy Lisbon-based industrialist, where the car has remained until recently, changing hands just three further times.

The 680 Monte Carlo was powered by Hotchkiss's own 3016cc OHV straight-six engine, which drove through the aforementioned rapid and smooth changing four-speed Cotal manual gearbox. Unlike its major competitors, Hotchkiss tended to fashion its own coachwork and this model was one of its most exclusive, and therefore expensive, offerings. The principal benefit of the chic Decouvrable hood system was the additional rigidity afforded by integrating the window frames into the main bodywork.

The vendor informs us that the car 'has benefited from having so few owners - all of them apparently wealthy enough to maintain it in good order. The engine is mechanically superb; the Cotal gearbox has been upgraded and operates exceptionally well; the bodywork is extremely sound and the entire motorcar was repainted in a soft shade of Old English White some ten years ago and the wool-lined hood retrimmed in Dark Blue mohair. The interior is delightful, with excellent, similarly-coloured leather trim and original wooden dashboard and door cappings'. The Hotchkiss rides on a matching set of barely used Avon crossply tyres and comes complete with colour-matched hood cover. A notably rare and exciting opportunity.