1951 Talbot-Lago T26C GS
Pilots: P. Meyrat, G. Mairesse
Team: Pierre Meyrat
Race: 2nd GC (S 4.5 class) at Le Mans in 1951 Bizarre - BZ494 (resin)
Published 08/11/18
Automobiles Talbot S.A. was founded in 1896 in the outskirts of Paris. In 1932 Antonio Lago bought the company and changed the name to Talbot-Lago. By the end of the decade and after the war, the brand was producing big luxury sedans and also race cars. The T26C was released in 1948, and was a single-seater racing car for GP racing. The engine was an inline-6 with 4483 cm³ and DOHC, initially developed for the Record sedan of 1946. It counted on a four speed Wilson pre-selector gearbox and delivered around 190 hp. The chassis was a steel box section, with basically.the same construction that the brand used in its pre-war cars.
The rules at Le Mans didn’t allow GP cars with their open wheels, so for the T26C to participate, it received fenders. This new car, called T26C GS, was basically the same C model but with fenders.
The T26GS was eminently a pre-WWII car, and as such, was not exactly a match for the new cars from Ferrari and Jaguar. But it was mechanically sound and reliable, and VERY important, cheap to buy. So at La Sarthe in 1951, there were four T26C GS in the hands of privateers. Car #9 here (chassis #110059), piloted by Pierre Meyrat and Guy Mairesse, finished best, in 2nd place. It came in 9 laps behind the winning XK-120C. Not bad for a dinosaur, right? But look at it. Remove the fenders and headlights and it’s easy to imagine it racing against the Silberpfeile of the 30’s. So definitively an oddball, and therefore cool. Bizarre did a great job on the model (better than my Ixo). So far I think this is the best model I have from Bizarre.