Gorgeous ‘teardrop’ Talbot Lago Coupe  a classic … 

About a year ago I was lucky enough to tour the Petersen Auto Museum in Los Angeles and even luckier, they had an incredible display of streamlined and art deco era cars on display.

Part of the display was the swoopy teardrop-shaped Talbot Lago T150C-SS coupe with its beautifully shaped body, metal sunroof (unheard of in the day) and rear-opening doors.  This was automotive beauty at its finest 1930s best.

Happily CMC recognized the Talbot Lago’s beauty and was hard at work recreating the coupe in its standard 1/18 scale and in museum quality detail in a delicious cool light metallic blue paint scheme.

The History

Automobiles Talbot came into existence in 1922, but really had been around since 1896. That’s when Alexandre Darracq launched an auto manufacturing firm using his name and the cars were successful racers at the time. He sold the firm in 1912 and  it was 1922 that the Talbot name emerged.

This fascinating teardrop shaped coupe was born amid financial woes during the Depression. Antonio Lago had been named Talbot’s managing director in 1932 and in 1936 he oversaw a management buyout of the struggling firm. Noted coachbuilder Fioni & Falaschi, created the T150C-SS coupe that debuted at the Paris Motor Show in 1937.

Streamlining was a popular industrial design during the era and this Talbot Lago captured it perfectly and it quickly became known as the “teardrop coupe.”

In addition to its elegant shape, the coupe featured a six-cylinder in-line engine generating 140 to 160 horsepower, a high-performance motor for its day with strong torque.

Ultimately just 16 of the coupes were made from 1937 to 1939 and only a few remain intact today. CMC used one of the existing coupes for accurate dimensional measurements for this model.  A final historical note, Talbot was purchased and merged into Simca in 1959.

One more vote for the Talbot Lago comes from the Pebble Beach Concours judges. They rated a burgundy model the Best of the Best in 2016, effectively voting this the most elegant car in the world.

The Model

The body’s shape is perfect and the execution flawless with all seams even, all hinges for hood, trunk and doors working perfectly. Even the sunroof slides back into the roof to better expose the red leather interior.

Lest you imagine CMC might skimp on parts, there are 1,488 parts here with a removable spare tire in the trunk, individually created wire-spoked wheels with nipples and two-wing central locking wheel nuts.

Headlights are recessed in the body behind a chromium-plated metal grid with a matching grille that any jewelry maker would be proud to claim.

The inline-6 itself is a piece of art with three carbs, six spark plug wires, and all the other plumbing necessary in the day. A battery is tucked behind the engine and neatly up under the cowling below the windshield. And naturally the black hood hinges look realistic and sturdily hold the multi-louvered hood aloft. Fine photo-etched metal trim graces each side of the hood and there are chrome handles to lift the bonnet, plus open the doors and trunk.

Rear lights are realistic, the windshield trimmed in thin chrome and the wiper arms metallic. Underneath the car also is fully detailed and bumpers front and rear are delicately styled chrome.

Inside, there are tinted sun visors in metal frames, an accurate dash with glass-covered gauges, chrome door pulls, and a black four-spoked steering wheel, appropriately right-hand drive.

Pricey? Indeed, just like the real thing, but fortunately for us collectors, the CMC model is not quite as rare. This lists at $518, but is a genuine conversation starter.

Vital Stats: 1937-39 Talbot Lago Coupe

Maker: CMC

Scale: 1/18

Stock No.: M-145

MSRP: $518

Link: cmcmodelcarsusa.com