Editing Delaunay-Belleville

{{Short description|French luxury automobile manufacturer (1903–1950)}}
[[File:Bonhams - The Paris Sale 2012 - Delaunay-Belleville HB4 Tourer - 1911 - 007.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|A 1911 Delaunay-Belleville HB 4 with replica coachwork<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/20099/lot/273/|title=Bonhams : 1911 Delaunay-Belleville HB4 Tourer Chassis no. 3783|website=www.bonhams.com|access-date=27 May 2019}}</ref>]]
[[File:Alexei Nikolaievich behind the wheel of a Delaunay-Belleville car.jpg|thumb|[[Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia]] in 1909]]
[[File:JF 128 - ST Denis - Place du Théatre - Sortie des ouvriers Delaunay-Belleville.JPG|thumb|Workers leaving the Delaunay-Belleville plant early in the twentieth century]]
[[File:Saint-Denis - Etablissements Delaunay-Belleville.jpg|thumb|The Delaunay-Belleville factory at Saint-Denis]]
[[File:Automobiles Delaunay Belleville 1924.jpg|thumb|Share of the S. A. des Automobiles Delaunay Belleville, issued 29 April 1924]]
[[File:1924 Delaunay Belleville P4B by Salmons & Sons 3.jpg|thumb|1924 Delaunay Belleville P4B , coachbuilder: Salmons & Sons]]

'''Automobiles Delaunay-Belleville''' ({{IPA|fr|dəlonɛ bɛlvil}}) was a French luxury [[automobile]] manufacturer at [[Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis|Saint-Denis]], France, north of Paris. At the beginning of the 20th century they were among the most prestigious cars produced in the world, and perhaps the most desirable French marque.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}}

== History ==
Julien Belleville had been a maker of marine boilers from around 1850. [[Louis Delaunay-Belleville|Louis Delaunay]] joined the firm in 1867 and married Belleville's daughter. He changed his name to Delaunay-Belleville and succeeded his father-in-law in charge of the company.<ref name=Automobile>{{cite journal
  
  | title = Stamina Status and Style
  | journal = The Automobile
  | volume = 26
  | pages = 43–47
  | date = June 2008}}</ref>

S.A. des Automobiles Delaunay-Belleville was formed in 1903 by Louis Delaunay and {{interlanguage link|Marius Barbarou|fr}}. Barbarou's family owned the boiler making company Belleville in [[Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis|Saint-Denis]], with boiler design influences inspired by the company. Barbarou, then 28,<ref>Wise, David Burgess. "Delaunay-Belleville: The Car Magnificent", in Ward, Ian, executive editor. ''World of Automobiles'' (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 5, p.525.</ref> had experience working for [[Clément-Gladiator|Clément]], [[Lorraine-Dietrich]] and [[Karl Benz|Benz]] and was responsible for design and styling, including the trademark round [[Radiator grille|grille shell]].<ref>Wise, p.525 caption.</ref> The first car was exhibited at the 1904 Paris Salon, and it received enormous acclaim.<ref>Wise, p.525.</ref>

The company started with three models, all [[Four-cylinder engine|four-cylinder]]s:<ref>Wise, p.525 and p.526.</ref> a [[live axle]]d 16&nbsp;hp and a 24&nbsp;hp and 40&nbsp;hp model, both [[chain-drive]]n.<ref>Wise, p.525 and 526.</ref> These were likely the first automobiles to have pressure-lubricated [[camshaft]]s.<ref name="Wise, p.526">Wise, p.526.</ref> The bodies were attached with just four bolts, and the brakes were water-cooled, from a {{convert|2|impgal|abbr=on|lk=on}} reservoir.<ref name="Wise, p.526"/>

Delaunay-Belleville were a prestige [[Brand|marque]], and one of the world's leaders, from the outset, and by 1906, Emperor [[Nicholas II of Russia]] had purchased a 40.<ref name="Wise, p.526"/> Other royal owners included [[King of the Hellenes|King]] [[George I of Greece]] and King [[Alfonso XIII]] of Spain.

The first French car maker to offer a [[six-cylinder engine]], Delaunay-Belleville's 70&nbsp;hp became available only in 1909, and then only in small numbers, remaining in limited production until 1912.<ref name="Wise, p.526"/> This model came to be known as the Type SMT, or ''Sa Majesté le Tsar'', because Nicholas purchased one of the last 70s built.<ref name="Wise, p.526"/> He also ordered another in 1909; the demand for a silent starter, operable from the driving seat, became known as a [[Barbey starter]], and was made standard at the end of 1910.<ref name="Wise, p.526"/>

Like most prestige marques, the cars were sold as bare [[chassis]] and bodies were [[Coachbuilding|coachbuilt]] for them. Between 1906 and 1914, British imports were mainly bodied by [[Shinnie Brothers]], a Burlington Coachbuilders<ref>[https://www.coachbuild.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=652&t=9913 Burlington Delaunay-Belleville] ''www.coachbuild.com/forum'', accessed 20 April 2022</ref> subsidiary, in [[Aberdeen, Scotland|Aberdeen]], then shipped to London for sale.<ref name="Wise, p.526"/>

During the [[World War I|First World War]], the [[Delaunay-Belleville armoured car]] was a British armoured car built on the chassis of the luxury French Delaunay-Belleville tourer. It saw service with the [[Royal Naval Air Service]] in the early years of the war. 

Postwar, Continental bodies gained popularity, at least in Britain, as Belgium's [[D'Ieteren|D'Ieteren Frères]] became most associated with the company: their [[landaulette]], on a 26&nbsp;hp chassis, was priced in Britain at £900, pitting them between [[Napier & Son|Napier]] and [[Rolls-Royce Limited|Rolls-Royce]].<ref name="Wise, p.526"/>

In 1919, the company offered the P4, a 2 litre sidevalve 10&nbsp;hp four-cylinder, undoubtedly the most expensive ''voiturette'' on the market, as well as a 2.6 litre OHC 15.9&nbsp;hp four, the [[Delaunay-Belleville P4B|P4B]], in 1922.<ref name="Wise, p.526"/>

After Barbarou resigned, Delaunay-Belleville quality began to slip.<ref name="Wise, p.526"/> New four-cylinder pushrod [[overhead valve]] 14/40 and 16/60 models appeared in 1926, and the pre-war 20&nbsp;hp and 10&nbsp;hp six-cylinder models continued to be produced until 1927.<ref name="Wise, p.526"/> The last gasps were the {{convert|3180|cc|cid|abbr=on}} 21&nbsp;hp six of 1928 and the {{convert|3619|cc|cid|abbr=on}} 21/75 OHV six of 1930. In 1931, [[Continental Motors Company|Continental]] engines, imported from the US, were offered, being quieter and cheaper.<ref name="Wise, p.526"/>

By the late 1920s, Delaunay-Belleville had lost its prestige, and converted to truck and military vehicle production. In 1936 the previously separate car company was merged with the Delaunay-Belleville parent. Production of the Delaunay-Belleville RI-6 continued through the late 1930s and was revived after the [[World War II|Second World War]]. This was a six-cylinder-engined car strongly resembling<ref name="Wise, p.526"/> the [[Mercedes-Benz W143|Mercedes-Benz 230]], featuring independent suspension all-round; revived postwar, it featured [[Preselector gearbox#Cotal|Cotal preselector gearbox]]<ref name="Wise, p.526"/> and a front grille design apparently copied from the 1939 Buick.<ref name=Automobilia1948/> However, the business was in decline: anyone buying a RI-6 in the 1940s would have done so in the knowledge after-sales service might disappear soon.<ref name=Automobilia1948/> Six cars were completed in 1947 and only four during the first part of 1948.<ref name=Automobilia1948/>

The company continued to advertise new cars for sale until 1950, but the factory was sold to [[Rovin|Robert de Rovin]] in 1948 and thereafter used to make [[cyclecar]]s.<ref name="Wise, p.526"/><ref name=Automobilia1948>{{cite journal| title =Automobilia| journal = Toutes les voitures françaises 1948 (Salon Paris oct 1947)| volume = 7| page =40|year = 1998 |publisher=Histoire & collections |location=Paris |language=fr }}</ref>

==See also==
* {{annotated link|Delage}}
* {{annotated link|Delahaye}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

*Wise, David Burgess. "Delahaye: Famous on Road and Race Track", in Ward, Ian, executive editor. ''World of Automobiles'', Volume 5, pp.&nbsp;525–526. London: Orbis, 1974, {{ISBN|9780839360094}}.
*''La Delaunay-Belleville (1904-1947), un fleuron de l'automobile'', Pierre-Henri, Philippe et François Richer, Les Editions Page de Garde, 2002, Elbeuf.

==External links==
{{commons category-inline}}
*[http://www.vea.qc.ca/vea/marques1/delaunay.htm delaunay at vea.qc.ca] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040624101420/http://vea.qc.ca/vea/marques1/delaunay.htm |date=2004-06-24 }}

[[Category:Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of France]]