Dore Delahaye one in a million

AN ‘extravagant and outrageous rolling sculpture’ is how the auctioneer described the 1949 Delahaye 175 S, once owned by Elton John, later by Diana Dors — the voluptuous British beauty billed as Britain’s answer to Marilyn Monroe.

That car, with coachwork by Saoutchik, and powered by a 4.5-litre inline-six engine with triple Solex carburetters and a four-speed Cotal pre-selector transmission, sold for US$3.3 million (AU$4.55m) back in 2010.

It was the highest price ever fetched for one of the special-bodied French classics.

Other notable sales results included a 1935 model 135M Competition Drophead Coupe, which went for US$1,435,000 (AU$2m) and a 1936 135 S Works that changed hands for £1,096,250 (AU$1.86m)

The latest sale of one of these rare beauties occured just a few weeks ago.

It featured on the Kruse Auction website, described as a ‘1938 Delahaye Pantheon Custom’ – it wasn’t a Delahaye, but it still topped the $1 million mark – in Australian dollars.

The spectacular blue car was a ‘one-off’ and the work of famed US car customiser Rick Dore, who has created more than a few mobile show-winning beauties in his long career.

He was inspired by the long, low flowing lines of the car, which was usually sold in chassis form to some of most celebrated coachbuilders of the time, among them Letourneur et Marchand, Chapron, Franay, Saoutchik, de Villars, Figoni et Falaschi and Faget-Varnet.

It was the Saoutchik example that got Rick’s creative energies going.

The hand-built car, finished in Tahitian award made its public debut at the 2025 SEMA – it stands for the Specialty Equipment Market Association – where it caused quite a stir, with people lining up to catch a glimpse of the hand-formed body.

SEMA brass and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem stopped to admire the Pantheon and celebrate Rick Dore’s crowning final achievement.

It would go on to garner a Best in Class Award at the 2025 Las Vegas Concours d’Elegance and Best Custom Roadster at the 2026 LA Roadster Show.

Known as one of the first and finest when it comes to applying his visions and skills to custom-built cars, Dore has crafted some of the most respected one-off customs in the world and has built a worldwide reputation.

He blends the elegance of the Classic Era with the drama of modern form, creating machines that according to some pundits, ‘look as if they’ve driven straight from a dream.’

Sleek, flowing, and meticulously detailed, his builds embody the soul of the French coachbuilt era while pushing the limits of contemporary craftsmanship.

From hand-formed aluminium panels to flawless finishes, every Dore creation displays a master’s touch and an artist’s eye for proportion and balance.

Kruse Auctions described the car as ‘old-world craftsmanship intertwined with modern-day performance, or French styling with American attitude.’

The Pantheon is powered by a 5.3-litre LS V8 engine paired with a 4L80 four-speed automatic transmission.

The understated interior features Egyptian leather, custom 17-inch steering wheel that carries the Rick Dore emblem, and a singular centre-mounted gauge that entails all road-going necessities and emulates the great French-built cars from the height of the Art Deco era.

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Many of Dore’s creations are on display at institutions such as the Petersen Automotive Museum and are seldom seen trading hands or leaving their long-term collections.

A few Delahayes arrived in Australia, mostly after WWII and John Crouch drove a 1936 Delahaye 135 CS GP to victory in the 1949 Australian Grand Prix on the Leyburn airfield circuit in Queensland.

The event is now commemorated in the annual Historic Leyburn Sprints.

The brand had great success in Europe in earlier years.

Among many achievements, its 135 S models took first and second places at Le Mans in 1938, second and third spots in the Mille Miglia of 1936 and its 4.5-litre V12 won the 1937 “Million Franc” race at Montlhéry.