Draft:Delahaye 44

In 1898, Emile Delahaye hired two mechanical engineers: Amadee Varlet, as his right-hand-man in production; and, Charles Weiffenbach, as his administrative management assistant. Then, he incorporated the new automotive company with two equal marriage-related partners, Leon Desmarais, and George Morane. Emile entered early retirement in 1901, forced upon him prematurely by his failing health. He died in 1905.

From 1905 on, Amadee Varlet was responsible for all of Delahaye's product designs, and their entire engineering, as well as production.

Amadee Varlet is credited with creating the first twin-cam, production, V6 engine, in 1910.

Delahaye commenced building Varlet's 3.2-litre, twin-cam V6, in the new Type 44, introduced in 1911. The cast iron V6 was not particularly well received. Then, in 1914, the French government ordered Delahaye to convert it's machine tools to the production of the Hispano-Suiza V8 aircraft engine, built under license, and Enfield 303 rifles.

Varlet previously invented the multi-valve twin-cam engine, for Delahaye. The huge displacement inline four-cylinder, four valves per cylinder, dual overhead camshaft Titan marine engine, mounted in the purpose-built speedboat 'La Dubonnet' piloted by Andre Dubonnet, briefly held the World speed record on water in 1905. But Emile Delahaye had died, and Charles Weiffenbach, who was put incharge, abhorred racing as a wasteful extravagance. He pulled Delahaye out of all forms of motorsport.

That remained the status quo, until the Type 138 was introduced in 1934, by Varlet's successor, Jean Francois. A new, specially prepared Type 138, equipped with a narrow, single-seat coupe body lacking fenders, set eleven International speed records. Delahaye was back in the game: with a vengeance.

The Type 138 engine was derived directly from Amadee Varlet's Type 103 truck engine that came out in 1927. It was a 3.2-litre,low compression ratio, inline, overhead-valve, six cylinder engine, that quickly proved to be nearly indestructible. Varlet's durable and marvellously reliable engine went on to make Delahaye famous in the legendarily successful Type 135CS sports-racing cars.

Citation: Club Delahaye's membership journals provided the information, as was obtained from it's salvaged Delahaye records, and published Paris newspapers and other articles.