1911 Delaunay-Belleville HB6 25CV Landaulet
Founded on a reputation built supplying steam boilers to the French Navy, Delaunay-Belleville brought the same engineering standards to motor cars when it entered the automobile trade in 1904.
Within a few years the marque had positioned itself alongside Daimler, Panhard, and Rolls-Royce at the top of the market (a status reinforced by the standing joke among contemporaries that no owner ever drove his own Delaunay).
The HB6 sits in the middle of the firm’s range, its 25CV designation reflecting a roughly 4.5-liter six-cylinder engine (approximately 4,493 cc) driving through a four-speed transmission.
The characteristic round radiator and hood (said to echo the drum-shaped boilers of the parent company’s industrial business) give the car an immediately recognizable profile.
Coachwork is by J. Rothschild et Fils of Paris, among the most prominent carrossiers of the period, credited with early use of aluminum body paneling and associated with the Roi des Belges body style. The landaulet configuration allows the rear passenger section to be folded open, while the chauffeur’s compartment remains enclosed.
Period equipment includes matching Rothschild headlamps and side lamps, Bosch magneto and coil ignition, Michelin detachable wheels, and a full complement of instruments.
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