1947 Delage D6-70 by Letourneur et Marchand - Front three-quarters view 2

Letourneur & Marchand, located in the prosperous Paris suburb

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residentia ...

, was a car body manufacturing business which became one of the last French coachbuilders.

Origins and growth 1905 - 1939

The company was founded by Jean-Marie Letourneur and Jean-Arthur Marchand in 1905, and by the 1930s was specialising in coachbuilt car bodies for fitting on chassis from luxury automakers such as

Duesenberg Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company, Inc. was an American racing and luxury automobile manufacturer founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, by brothers Fred and August Duesenberg in 1920. The company is known for popularizing the straight- ...

Hispano-Suiza Hispano-Suiza () is a Spanish automotive–engineering company. It was founded in 1904 by Marc Birkigt and Damian Mateu as an automobile manufacturer and eventually had several factories in Spain and France that produced luxury cars, aircraft en ...

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated ...

and

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the R ...

. In 1924 the company created a subsidiary called ''Autobineau'' to specialise in sedan and limousine car bodies produced in marginally greater volumes and in a slightly more standardised format than was associated with the upmarket coach builders. During the 1920s Letourneur et Marchand became the main supplier of car bodies for Delage. The business also built bodies for manufacturers such as

Unic Unic was a French manufacturer founded in 1905, and active as an automobile producer until July 1938. After this the company continued to produce commercial vehicles, retaining its independence for a further fourteen years before being purcha ...

. In 1936, Delage introduced their D8-120 chassis, which formed the basis for the ''Aérosport'', manufactured between 1936 and 1939.Daniel Cabart et Claude Rouxel, ''Delage. La belle voiture française'', éditions E.T.A.I., 2005.

Decline and demise 1945 - 1960

After the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, Letourneur et Marchand found themselves one of numerous auto-businesses far too small to feature significantly in the government's vision for an export led French auto-industry dominated by a handful of large manufacturers. Between 1947 and 1952 the company produced only 67 car bodies, equivalent to about one car per month. Immediate financial collapse was averted in 1953 thanks to a contract signed with

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...

for the production of a cabriolet version of the Renault Frégate which had been homologated with the authorities and could be sold and serviced through one of France's largest dealership networks. Unfortunately the Frégate itself had got off to a slow start in the market place, being beset by teething problems and reliability issues, and although sources indicate that during the second half of the decade it became a much more dependable vehicle, in terms of sales volumes it was hopelessly out competed by the

Simca Vedette The Simca Vedette is a large car, manufactured from 1954 to 1961 by French automaker Simca, at their factory in Poissy, France. The Vedette competed in France's large car market at a time when the economy was finally returning to growth, and enj ...

and the

Citroën DS The Citroën DS () is a front mid-engined, front-wheel drive executive car manufactured and marketed by Citroën from 1955 to 1975, in fastback/sedan, wagon/estate, and convertible body configurations, across three series of one generation. M ...

. The Frégate struggled on till 1960 when it was withdrawn without direct replacement, and during this time 70 Letourneur et Marchand cabriolet variants were produced. The final batch of Frégate cabriolets featured an eye catching two tone paint scheme, coloured either "black and ivory" or "black and turquoise". Letourneur & Marchand collapsed in 1960 following the discontinuation of their cabriolet version of the Renault Frégate.

External links

www.coachbuild.com, Letourneur et Marchand.

References and sources

* ''La carrosserie française, du style au design, par Serge Bellu'', éditions E.T.A.I., 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Letourneur et Marchand Coachbuilders of France