France · est. 1935
Talbot-Lago: French performance and coachbuilding, Suresnes 1936–59.
Forthcoming lots
1 forthcoming lot · Monterey 2026
The house
When STD Motors’ French Automobiles Talbot operation entered receivership at the end of 1934, Italian engineer Antonio Lago completed a management buy-out in 1936. The resulting Talbot-Lago company was based at Suresnes; the inherited range continued initially while Walter Becchia-designed replacements were introduced.
Lago and Becchia developed a four-litre competition six from the existing Talbot six. At the 1937 Grand Prix de l’Automobile Club de France at Montlhéry—a sports-car race capped at 4.5 litres—Louis Chiron, Gianfranco Comotti and Albert Divo finished first, second and third for Automobiles Talbot. Figoni & Falaschi built the Teardrop, or Goutte d’Eau, bodies: twelve New York-style coupés and five Jeancart notchbacks; the museum source says each body took 2,100 hours and no two were identical.
After the war, Talbot-Lago’s 4.5-litre T26 served both road and competition cars. Ultimatecarpage gives T26C production as 23 cars, all versions, between 1948 and 1950; the T26C debuted at Monaco in 1948. Louis Rosier won the 1949 Belgian Grand Prix and Louis Chiron the 1949 French Grand Prix in T26Cs. At Le Mans in 1950, Louis and Jean-Louis Rosier won outright in a privately entered Talbot-Lago T26 GS Biplace, while Pierre Meyrat and Guy Mairesse finished second in another Talbot-Lago T26.
Suresnes output was reported as 433 cars in 1950, 80 in 1951 and 34 in 1952. Lago accepted Henri Pigozzi’s Simca offer in 1958 and the business transferred in 1959; Simca completed the final Lago America batch with its own V8 before production ceased. Talbot-Lago, the 1936 manufacturer, is defunct. The later TALBOT word mark is registered in the EU to Stellantis Auto SAS; that mark is not a revival of Talbot-Lago.
Selected milestones
1936
Lago completes the buy-out
Antonio Lago completed the management buy-out from the receiver, establishing Talbot-Lago at Suresnes.
1937
A Talbot one-two-three at Montlhéry
Chiron, Comotti and Divo finished first, second and third in the 4.5-litre-limit sports-car French Grand Prix. Figoni & Falaschi’s Teardrop series began in the same period.
1948
The T26C debuts
Talbot-Lago’s 4.5-litre T26C made its competition debut at the Monaco Grand Prix, where Chiron finished second.
1949–50
Grand Prix wins and Le Mans
Rosier won the Belgian Grand Prix and Chiron the French Grand Prix in 1949. Louis and Jean-Louis Rosier then won the 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans outright in a T26 GS Biplace.
1958–59
Transfer to Simca
Lago accepted Simca’s offer in 1958 and the business transferred in 1959. Simca fitted its V8 to the final Lago America cars awaiting engines.
What defines Talbot-Lago
Talbot-Lago developed competition cars alongside road models. The pre-war four-litre engine powered sporting Talbots and Teardrop coupés; the post-war T26 family supplied road and racing applications.
Lago held rights to export Wilson gearboxes before acquiring the business. Talbot-Lago used the pre-selector on verified models including T150-C SS examples and the T26C, allowing a gear to be selected before engagement.
Talbot-Lago built many late-1940s cars with factory bodies, while the T26 Grand Sport was supplied as a bare chassis for specialist coachbuilders. Figoni & Falaschi were among the best-known Talbot-Lago bodybuilders.