In the 1930s, Emile Darl’mat was the largest Peugeot dealer in Paris.
After Peugeot pulled out of racing he sought to carry on the legacy particularly at LeMans.
Using the 302/402 chassis, he created his own sports car. He clothed it with an Art Deco body, coachbuilt by Marcel Pourtout, from a George Paulin design. The two-liter OHC inline-four made 70 horsepower in road trim and more in race trim. In 1938, three Special Sport Roadsters entered by Darl’mat were campaigned at the 24 Hueres du Mans and won the two-liter class. Customers got their choice of coupe, cabriolet or sport roadster bodies and just 105 were built.
During his short career, Paulin designed several significant motorcars, including the famous ‘Embiricos’ Bentley that raced at LeMans. He also styled a variety of sports cars fitted with retractable hardtops, and these cars, known as the Eclipse Series, really defined French cars of the Art Deco era. For 1938, an updated Peugeot 402 chassis served as the basis for a limited run of production road cars and competition models called the DS 402 Darl’mat. Three of these cars were entered in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1938 and one finished in fifth overall and won its class.
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