The Million Franc

This 1937 Delahaye Type 145 V12 Grand Prix racer is also known by its more famous moniker – The Million Franc! In an an effort to best records set by German and Italian Grand Prix machines, French leadership and the Automobile Club of France announced The Prix du Million, with a grand prize of one million Francs to the first French race car to best the standing track record at the Montlhery. The car had to use the 1938 Grand Prix rulebook in order to to take the win. With Rene Dreyfus behind the wheel the Delahaye 145 set the record, averaging 90 mph and change over two hours, and wearing the Dunlops down the the cords in the process. Alfa Romeo, Auto Union, and Mercedes Benz were no longer riding the top of the Grand Prix heap. Dreyfus the Delahaye 145 became the focus of French nationalistic fervor after setting the new the record. The Million Franc didn’t stop there.

Rene Dreyfus drove the Delahaye 145 to victory in the 1938 Grand Prix of Pau, beating Rudolf Caracciola in his German Mercedes Benz W154 entry. Gianfranco Comotti took 3rd place in another Delahaye 145. All of France cheered The Million Franc! A few years later with the Germans on the horizon, the French made like Italo Bombolini in The Secret of Santa Vittoria. The Million Franc Delahaye was disassembled and hidden in secret, possibly in a cave. The Million Franc was re-assembled after the war, but no one seemed to remember that it was The Million Franc. A top secret document found in the catacombs of the French Government archives later proved that this 145 was The Million Franc 145. The car now resides at the Mullin Automotive Museum and is shown here restored to its 1938 Grand Prix livery. Another 1937 Delahaye 145 and its owner also claim The Million Franc title. Go Bombolini!

The Mullin Automotive Museum is located in Oxnard, California in the same building Otis Chandler once used to store his personal automobile and motorcycle collection.