Editing Talbot-Lago (section)

==After World War II==
After the [[Second World War|war]], the company continued to be known both for successful high-performance racing cars and for large luxurious passenger cars, with extensive sharing of chassis and engine components between the two. Nevertheless, the period was one of economic stagnation and financial stringency. The company had difficulty finding customers, and its finances were stretched.<ref name=Automobilia1953>{{cite journal| title =Automobilia| journal = Toutes les voitures françaises 1953 (Salon Paris oct 1952)| volume = 14|page=77|year = 2000|publisher=Histoire & collections|location=Paris }}</ref>

In 1946, the company began production of a new engine design, based on earlier units but with a new cylinder head featuring twin in-block camshafts. This engine, designed under the leadership of Carlo Marchetti,<ref name=AlleAutosder50er/> was in many respects a new engine. A 4483 cc six-cylinder in-line engine was developed for the [[Talbot Lago Record]] (1946–1952) and for the Talbot Grand Sport 26CV (1947–1954). These cars were priced against large luxurious cars from the likes of [[Delahaye]], [[Delage]], [[Hotchkiss et Cie|Hotchkiss]] and [[Salmson]]. Talbot would remain in the auto-making business for longer than any of these others, and the Talbot name was resurrected in the early 1980s.<ref name=AlleAutosder50er>{{cite book |last=Gloor |first=Roger |title=Alle Autos der 50er Jahre 1945–1960|edition=1.|year=2007 |publisher=Motorbuch Verlag |location=Stuttgart |isbn=978-3-613-02808-1}}</ref>

===Talbot Lago Record T26===
{{main|Talbot Lago Record}}
[[File:Paris_-_Bonhams_2013_-_Talbot_Lago_T26_record_cabriolet_-_1947_-_001.jpg|thumb|Talbot Lago T26 Record cabriolet]]
The "Talbot Lago Record T26" was a large car with a [[Tax horsepower|fiscal horsepower]] of 26 CV and a claimed actual power output of 170&nbsp;hp, delivered to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual gear box, with the option at extra cost of a [[Preselector gearbox#Wilson|Wilson]] [[Preselector gearbox|pre-selector]] gear box, and supporting a claimed top speed of 170&nbsp;km/h (105&nbsp;mph). The car was commonly sold as a stylish four-door sedan, but a two-door cabriolet was also offered. There were also coachbuilt specials with bodywork by traditionalist firms such as [[Carrosserie Hermann Graber|Graber]].<ref name="AlleAutosder50er" />

===Talbot Lago Grand Sport T26===
[[File:Talbot Lago by Stabilimenti Farina.jpg|thumb|left|1951 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Cabriolet by Stabilimenti Farina]]
The "T26 Grand Sport (GS)" was first displayed in public in October 1947 as a shortened chassis,<ref>The standard wheelbase for the existing T26 models was 3125 mm, but for the T26 Grand Sport this was reduced to 2650 mm.</ref> and only 12 were made during 1948 which was the models's first full year of production.<ref name="Automobilia1948">{{cite journal| title =Automobilia| journal = Toutes les voitures françaises 1948 (Salon Paris oct 1947)| volume = 7|page=78|year = 1998|publisher=Histoire & collections|location=Paris }}</ref> The car was noted for its speed. The engine which produced 170&nbsp;hp in the Lago Record was adapted to provide {{convert|190|bhp|abbr=on}} or, later, {{convert|195|bhp|abbr=on}} in the GS, and a top speed of around 200&nbsp;km/h (124&nbsp;mph) was claimed, depending on the body that was fitted.<ref name="AlleAutosder50er" /> The car was built for either racing or luxury and benefited directly from Talbot's successful T26C Grand Prix car. As such it was expensive, rare and helped [[Louis Rosier]] with [[Jean-Louis Rosier|his son]] to win the [[24 Hours of Le Mans|LeMans 24 Hour race]] in 1950. The GS replaced the Lago-Record chassis which was named for its remarkable top speed. The GS was one of the world's most powerful production cars at the time. It had several special features from the T26 Grand Prix cars, such as a 4.5-litre inline-6 aluminum cylinder head, a hollowed camshaft, multiport exhaust system and triple carburetors.<ref name="simeone">{{cite web|last1=Simeone|first1=Frederick|title=1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Coupe|date=19 July 2008 |url=http://www.simeonemuseum.org/the-collection/rally-racing/1948-talbot-lago-t26-grand-sport-coupe|publisher=Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum|access-date=10 March 2015}}</ref> Chassis details were similar to the Grand Prix cars, but it was longer and wider. It came it two wheelbase lengths -104 and {{convert|110|in|mm}}.

Almost all the Talbots sold during the late 1940s came with Talbot bodies, constructed in the manufacturer's extensive workshops. The '''T26 Grand Sport (GS)''' was the exception, however, and cars were delivered only as bare chassis, requiring customers to choose bespoke bodywork from a specialist coachbuilder.<ref name="Automobilia1948" />  The GS was a star turn in a dull world and coachbuilders such as Saoutchik, [[Franay]], Oblin, and Figoni et Falaschi competed to trump Talbot's own designers with elaborately elegant bodies.<ref name="AlleAutosder50er" />

===Talbot Lago Baby===
{{main|Talbot Baby}}
[[File:Talbot-Lago T26 Berline ca 1950 Anet.jpg|thumb|right|Talbot-Lago T15 Baby Berline d'Usine ca. 1950]]The '''Talbot Lago Baby''' (1948–1951) marked the return of a pre-war Talbot model name and was the third model presented by the company during the 1940s. The car was commonly sold as a four-door sedan, but a two-door cabriolet was also offered. Its engine comprised only four cylinders, but the twin overhead camshaft with cylinder valves on both sides of the engine block was again featured:<ref name=AlleAutosder50er/> at 2690 cc the engine capacity equated to a [[tax horsepower|fiscal horsepower]] of 15 CV,<ref name=Automobilia1953/> which was enough to attract the punitive levels of car tax applied by the French government to large cars. The power output was initially {{convert|110|bhp|abbr=on}}, which in 1949 was increased to {{convert|120|bhp|abbr=on}}.<ref name=AlleAutosder50er/> Although the postwar Baby sedan closely resembled the more powerful Record on a brief glance, the Baby's 2,950&nbsp;mm wheelbase was slightly shorter than the 3130&nbsp;mm wheelbase of the Record, and the overall length was correspondingly 200&nbsp;mm shorter, reflecting the shortened 4-cylinder engine block.<ref name=AlleAutosder50er/> Additionally, the cheaper car sat on a simplified suspension set-up. Baby customers could specify as an option a Wilson pre-selector gear box.<ref name=AlleAutosder50er/>

Talbot Lago manufactured three special made seven-seater presidential cars; one for the President of France, one for the President of Tunisia and one for the royal family in Saudi Arabia.

===Talbot-Lago T26C===
{{main|Talbot-Lago T26C}}
[[File:Talbot Lago Type 26C of Ron Townley.jpg|thumb|right|1948 Talbot-Lago T26C]]
The '''Talbot-Lago T26C''' is an [[Open-wheel car|open-wheel]] [[Formula racing|formula race car]], designed and developed by French manufacturer Talbot-Lago, and built to the new [[Formula One]] racing rules and regulations, in 1948.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.conceptcarz.com/s21560/talbot-lago-t-26c-grand-prix.aspx|title=1948 TalbotLago T26C Grand Prix technical and mechanical specifications|website=conceptcarz.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.supercars.net/blog/1948-talbot-lago-t26-course/|title=1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Course &#124; Talbot-Lago|first=Nick|last=D|date=23 April 2016}}</ref>

===New bodies for 1952===
In 1951, as rumours of the company's financial difficulties intensified, a new [[Ponton (automobile)|Ponton format]] body appeared for the Talbot Baby and Record.<ref name=AlleAutosder50er/> The wheelbases were carried over from the earlier models. Although in many ways strikingly modern, the new car featured a two piece front windscreen in place of the single flat screen of its predecessor, presumably reflecting the difficulties at the time of combining the strength of a windscreen with curved glass at an acceptable price and quality. The new car's large rear window was itself replaced by a larger three-piece "panoramic" wrap around back window as part of the car's first face-lift, which took place in time for the 1952 [[Paris Motor Show]].<ref name=Automobilia1953/> The engine specification of the four-cylinder unit was unchanged as was the claimed performance even though the new body was some 100&nbsp;kg heavier than the old. A new development with the Ponton-bodied cars body was the availability of the larger six-cylinder unit from the Talbot Record in the top-of-the-line Talbot Baby, which in this form was called the Talbot Baby/6 Luxe, and had the slightly longer wheel-base and overall length enforced by the greater length of the six-cylinder engine.<ref name=AlleAutosder50er/>

===T14 LS engine / Talbot Lago Sport===
{{main|Talbot Lago Sport}}
[[File:Talbot-Lago T14 LS.jpg|thumb|1956 Talbot-Lago T14 LS]]
At the 1954 [[Paris Motor Show|Salon de L'Automobile de Paris]], Talbot-Lago presented their last new engine: the new four-cylinder still had the typical twin laterally mounted camshafts, although it was upgraded to five main bearings. The new {{convert|120|PS|kW|0|abbr=on}} 2,491&nbsp;cc engine was called the T14 LS, but it did not have a car to go in until May 1955 when the [[Talbot Lago Sport|Talbot-Lago 2500 Coupé T14 LS]] was finally presented.<ref name="Decker1">{{cite journal | last = Decker | first = Jean-Paul | ref = Decker | title = Blue note: A bord d'une... Talbot-Lago 2500 coupé T 14 LS 1955 | language = fr |pages=34, 37 | journal = Rétroviseur | number = 267 |date=May 2011 | publisher = Éditions LVA | issn = 0992-5007 | location = Fontainebleau, France }}</ref> The first car had all-aluminium bodywork, but later cars used more steel.  Fifty-four of these coupés were built, but they proved hard to sell - the stylish bodywork couldn't quite hide the thirties' underpinnings, and the rough engine offered little elasticity nor longevity.<ref name="Decker2">[[#Decker|Decker]], p. 38</ref>

Lacking the resources to engineer the necessary improvements, for 1957 Talbot-Lago had to resort to buying in an engine.  They chose the V8 2580&nbsp;cc made available by [[BMW]], albeit with the bore diameter slightly reduced, to 72.5&nbsp;mm, which gave rise to a 2476&nbsp;cc engine displacement, positioning the car (just) within the 14CV [[Tax horsepower#France|car tax band]].<ref name=Automobilia1958>{{cite journal| title =Automobilia| journal = Toutes les voitures françaises 1958 (Salon Paris Oct 1957)| volume = 8|page=74|year = 1998|publisher=Histoire & collections|location=Paris }}</ref>  Reflecting the company's export plans, Talbot now rebranded the car as the "Talbot Lago America" and (finally) came into line with other French automakers by placing the driver on the left side of the car.<ref name=Automobilia1958/>  However, market response remained lukewarm, and only about a dozen of the BMW powered Talbot Lago Americas were produced.<ref name=Automobilia1958/>  In the early summer of 1958, Tony Lago decided to accept an offer from Simca president, [[Henri Pigozzi]], for the sale of the Talbot brand to [[Simca]].<ref name=Automobilia1958/>  The sale of the business went ahead in 1959.<ref name=Automobilia1959>{{cite journal| title =Automobilia| journal = Toutes les voitures françaises 1959 (Salon Paris Oct 1958)| volume = 21|page=78|year = 2002|publisher=Histoire & collections|location=Paris }}</ref>

With the sale of the business to Simca, the new owners found themselves with a handful of the final Talbot Lago Americas which were awaiting engines.<ref name=Automobilia1960>{{cite journal| title =Automobilia| journal = Toutes les voitures françaises 1960 (Salon Paris Oct 1959)| volume = 15|page=60|year = 2000|publisher=Histoire & collections|location=Paris }}</ref>  There was now no question of Simca being permitted, or wishing, to produce cars with BMW engines, and the only solution available was to fit the last batch of cars with Simca's own 2351&nbsp;cc V8.<ref name=AlleAutosder50er/>  This [[Ford flathead V8 engine|engine]] had its roots in 1930s Detroit, and was originally provided by Ford to give the (then) [[Ford Vedette]] produced by their [[Ford SAF|French subsidiary]] a flavor of the driving experience offered by an unstressed US style V8 sedan.<ref name=Automobilia1960/> It was by no stretch of the imagination an engine for a sports car, and even with a second carburetor produced only {{convert|95|bhp|abbr=on}}, as against the {{convert|138|bhp|abbr=on}} of the BMW-engined cars from the previous year's production.<ref name=Automobilia1960/>  Claimed top speed was now 165&nbsp;km/h (103&nbsp;mph) in place of the 200&nbsp;km/h (124&nbsp;mph) listed the previous year.<ref name=Automobilia1960/>  At the 1959 [[Paris Motor Show]] a stand had been booked for what was by now the Simca-Talbot brand, but a late decision was taken not to exhibit a Lago America and the stand was instead given up to a hastily constructed "motor show special" prototype of which, after the motor show, nothing more would be heard.<ref name=Automobilia1960/>