DELAHAYE

175

The Delahaye 175 is an automobile manufactured by Delahaye between 1947 and 1951. The last of the large Delahayes, the type 175 was essentially a brand new chassis and engine. The chassis bore little resemblance to the preceding Type 135, other than in the cockpit area, with its welded driveshaft tunnel and perimeter-welded stamped-steel floor that acted as a stressed structural member. It introduced the semi-monocoque chassis structure to the automobile realm. This revolutionary approach allowed the seat rails to be mounted on the bottom-plane of the chassis, instead of sitting on top of it, as competitors were doing. Their chassis had a heavy X-braced cruciform in the middle of the passenger compartment, with the driveshaft passing through a hole at intersection.. This methodology allowed a Coachbuilt Delahaye body to be lower in profile than the competition. The rigid chassis delighted France's coachbuilders for its remarkable rigidity, low profile stance, and its comfortably expansive completely rectangular passenger compartment.