If you're a regular reader of Paul Fraser Collectibles, then you'll know that Marilyn Monroe is never far from our news coverage. But how about a piece of memorabilia attached to her British equivalent, Diana Dors?
 Diana Dors in the trailer for 1957's |
RM Auctions will sell Dors' 1949 Delahaye Type 175 S Roadster in California, later this month. Although Dors was a British icon, her car is in fact by a French manufacturer while its bodywork was by the Parisian coachbuilder, Saoutchik.
As befits an icon as unique as Dors - who, aged 20, was the youngest registered UK owner of a Rolls Royce, even though she didn't have a driver's licence, and whose likeness can be seen on The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band LP - the Type 175 S's chassis was a strictly one-off design.
As was traditional in various parts of Europe in the late-'40s, Saoutchik designed the coachwork atop Delahaye's chassis to the specifications of Sir John Gaul of Monte Carlo. Gaul - a good friend of the renowned car collector Prince Rainier - purchased the car as a gift for Dors.
 The magnificent 1949 Delahaye Type 175 S Roadster |
The automobile was actually of two Saoutchik decorated automobiles commissioned by Gaul after WWII, the other being an extravagant Rolls-Royce. The Delahaye's bodywork is said to have been especially influenced by Gaul's obsession with Lockheed's Constellation.
Around the time that it was gifted to Dors, the magnificent car won the Concours d'Elegance in Monaco. Needless to say, with its glittering curves, long lines and turquoise paintwork, the car will be sure to turn heads at RM Auctions' sale - just as Dors did in her heyday.
The historic Delahaye will roll onto the auction block before collectors and investors on Saturday, August 14, carrying an impressive estimate of $4m-6m.
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