Delage Is Just the Latest in a Long Line of Iconic Car Brand Revivals

If we look back in recent automotive history, we can see automakers have taken the habit of reviving historic brands on a regular basis. Renault brought back the Alpine brand with the reinvented A110 back in 2017.

Then, last year, we saw the Hispano Suiza name rekindled by no less than two different companies, both presenting their own models – the vintage-designed electric Carmen and the futuristic Maguari HS1 GTC.

Now we are well into 2020 and we already received news of three iconic nameplates vying for our automotive attention. We are starting to see hints of a trend building up here, if we are correct. Italy’s Iso, brought back with the IsoRivolta GTZ by Zagato has been joined by famed British aviation company Sopwith looking for a grounded apparition and now there is word that French automaker Delage is exiting almost seven decades of hibernation.

And is doing it in a big way as the storied luxury marque is looking to surprise Ferrari SF90 Stradale owners with a rival to match, its new D12 hybrid hypercar.

But before we discuss the 1,130PS (831kW) brainchild of French entrepreneur Laurent Tapie, let us embark on a quick history lesson. The Delage brand was synonymous with French automobile luxury and motorsport greatness between during the first half of the 20th century.

It was founded back in 1905 by Louis Delage, had its glory era during the golden age of the inter-war years and quickly slumped back into oblivion after Delahaye (the brand’s owner after 1935) did not overcome the hardships of the depressed post-WWII France.

While the original Delage brand ceased operations back in 1953, last year the fan club “Les Amis de Delage” and Tapie (son of famous French politician, musician, and actor Bernard Tapie) formed the new Delage Automobiles. Its first product, the D12, was showcased late last year at private events in America and has now been fully revealed ahead of production scheduled to commence at the automaker’s historic home of Levallois-Perret.

Just like any other exotic brand revival it is hard to tell exactly when the Delage D12 will begin series production, with the matters even more complicated because the new company must first settle a disagreement with French authorities, as the latter consider the old plant to have entered protected architectural status.

Of course, after waiting almost 70 years for Delage’s comeback fans might not feel the burden of another couple of years or so of waiting for Tapie – Delage Automobiles’ president – to begin the limited series-production of just 30 units. This is because the premise is more than enticing.

The Delage D12 will be a €2 million ($2,364,270 at current exchange rates) hybrid hypercar good for 1,130 PS in its standard “GT” form that tips the scales at a mere 1,400 kg (3,086 pounds). The lighter D12 Club has a smaller electric motor joining the 7.6-liter V12 and goes for 1,038 PS and a curb weight of just 1,038 PS.

With help from 1997 Formula One world champion Jacques Villeneuve the D12 is all set to hone its performance skills to the brink of reaching 100 kph (62 mph) in a mere 2,5 seconds and Tapie declaring the company’s appetite for the Nurburgring Nordschleife all-time record for street-legal vehicles.

And as we mentioned before, Delage is not the only historic brand looking for modern recognition. We previously discussed the Zagato IsoRivolta reincarnation, but we almost overlooked the British aviation First World War specialist Sopwith.

Time to make amends, alongside Phil Bevan, an entrepreneur who is looking to bring down to earth the former aircraft manufacturer with a pair of plane-inspired models that scream Morgan Three-Wheeler from every angle. Yeah, we have great automotive times ahead of us.