At last year's "Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance" I took the opportunity to shoot dozens of photos intending, from time-to-time, to share them with you. Now that this year's event is getting closer it's time to let some out of the box, so to speak, for the Concours features the most spectacular classics to be seen anywhere, many with exotic names and equally exotic coachwork. Today's beauty is a 1938 Darracq/Talbot Lago T150C Convertible owned by John W. Marriott of Bethesda, Maryland. The body is by Figoni & Falaschi, a French firm famous for its flambouyant designs; Darracq was an innovative French manufacturer whose origins date back to 1896.

In 1919, Darracq took over Britain's Talbot and merged in 1920 with Sunbeam to form the Sunbeam Talbot Darracq group. Company director Anthony Lago then became a major influence, getting the firm heavily involved in racing with the T150C, which had a distinguished competition record. Curiously, the cars were badged as Talbots in France and Darracqs in Britain. The 1938 Darracq/Talbot Lago T150C that I photographed can currently be viewed at the Phoenix Art Museum's wonderful "Curves of Steel" display. A more complete description of the car and Tony Lago "can be seen here".