Émile Darl'mat (1892–1970) was the creator and owner of a
Peugeot
Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis.
The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...
distributor with a car body business established at the
rue de l'Université
''Ruta graveolens'', commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of the genus '' Ruta'' grown as an ornamental plant and herb. It is native to the Mediterranean. It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for ...
in Paris in 1923.
[ In the 1930s the firm gained prominence as a low volume manufacturer of Peugeot-based sports cars. Business was interrupted by the Second World War, but at least one prototype was kept hidden throughout the period and directly after the war Darl'mat returned to the construction of special bodied Peugeots, although in the impoverished condition of post-war France business never returned to the volumes achieved during the 1930s.
]
Building the business
The first cars were built at Darl'mat's workshops in Paris; however, during the 1930s the special bodied Peugeot-based coupés and cabriolets became increasingly integrated into the Peugeot range. During the second half of the decade, starting in 1936, Darl'mat's Peugeot-based coupes and cabriolets were built at the Peugeot plant in Sochaux
Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France.
Geography
Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris.
Population
Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''.
Economy
...
.
The best remembered of the Darl'mats is a sports car
A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as Automobile handling, handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and Auto racing, racing capability. Sports cars originated in ...
based on the Peugeot 302: the engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...
was taken from the 402
__NOTOC__
Year 402 ( CDII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Arcadius and Honorius (or, less frequently, year 1155 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 4 ...
. Several Peugeot-Darl'mat 402 "spécial sport" models raced at Le Mans
Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...
with success in 1937 and 1938.coupe
A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors.
The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...
, and a drop-head coupe - were offered.
Post-war developments
After the war, the company produced a small two-door fastback coupé based on the Peugeot 202
The Peugeot 202 is a supermini developed and designed by the French car manufacturer Peugeot. Production of the car ran between 1938 and 1942 and then, after a brief production run of 20 in early 1945, restarted in mid-1946. It was sold until 194 ...
. In 1947, with a team of drivers working in relays, this car appeared at Montlhéry
Montlhéry () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located from Paris.
History
Montlhéry lay on the strategically important road from Paris to Orléans. U ...
and broke three speed records for the under 1100 cc class while using fuel at the rate of approximately 10 L/100 km (23.3 mpg). The car managed at an average speed of , at an average speed of and achieving an average of over 12 hours. A few weeks later in October, this Darl'Mat 202 was exhibited in public at the Paris Motor Show
The Paris Motor Show () is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently takes place in Paris expo Porte de V ...
.Peugeot 203
The Peugeot 203 is a small family car which was produced by the French car manufacturer Peugeot between 1948 and 1960.
The car was exhibited at the Paris Motor Show in 1947, but by then had already been under development for more than five years ...
; sources indicate that by early 1953 more than 150 of these Peugeot 203 Darl'mat conversions were registered.[
Dating from April 1953 is a picture of a closed gull-wing style coupe prototype, evidently inspired by the ]Mercedes-Benz 300SL
The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (chassis code W 198) is a two-seat sports car that was produced by Mercedes-Benz from 1954 to 1957 as a gullwinged coupé and from 1957 to 1963 as a roadster. The 300 SL traces its origins to the company's 1952 racin ...
.[ The company's final project as an aspiring auto-maker was a ]Peugeot 403
The Peugeot 403 is a mid-size car manufactured and marketed by Peugeot between May 1955 and October 1966. A total of 1,214,121 of all types, including commercial models, were produced, making it the first Peugeot to exceed one million in sales.
...
-based coupé, but only five were built. After this the business concentrated on the mainstream activity on which its owner had originally embarked in 1923 as a Paris-based Peugeot dealer.
References
*David Burgess Wise, ''The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Automobile''
{{commons category, Darl'Mat vehicles
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of France