France · Type H4 production began · 1908

Delaunay-Belleville Type H4 Double Phaeton

A boiler maker built this grand French tourer with a round radiator and pressure-fed oiling when many rival engines still depended on oil drips.

Luxury pioneers

Exterior · Photo shows Period-correct 1908 Delaunay-Belleville open touring car identified as a 28 HP CB4, not the profile’s Type H4 15HP Double Phaeton; representative maker/year imagery with model and engine difference explicit.. Period-correct 1908 Delaunay-Belleville open touring car identified as a 28 HP CB4, not the profile’s Type H4 15HP Double Phaeton; representative maker/year imagery with model and engine difference explicit.
1908 Delaunay-Belleville 28 HP CB4 · Buch-t · Public domain

Auction-based estimated value

Research pending

A matching completed auction sale has not been verified for this exact year, body, trim, engine, transmission and market.

Joyride shows this gap instead of substituting an asking price, unsold bid or mismatched special vehicle.

A place in vehicle history

More than a set of wheels.

Delaunay-Belleville grew from a Saint-Denis maker of steam boilers. Its automobile company hired engineer Marius Barbarou and displayed its first cars in 1904. The Type H4 arrived for 1908 as a four-cylinder luxury chassis that coachbuilders could dress in bodies such as Henri Labourdette's double phaeton. Its round radiator echoed the firm's boiler work, while pressure lubrication brought steam-engine know-how into a petrol car.

Look a little closer.

Its circular radiator was so distinctive that a Delaunay-Belleville could look like a polished boiler approaching down the road.

Photos show an example of the model or generation. The pictured vehicle’s year, equipment, or modifications can differ from the specification described here.

Why the year changed from 1907 to 1908

The assignment proposed a 1907 H4, but the reviewed H4 histories place production in 1908–1910, and the documented Labourdette double phaeton is chassis 2587 from 1908. This profile uses that defensible launch-year identity rather than attaching a pre-production year to the type.

Source: 360 Car Museum · 1909 Delaunay-Belleville H4 ↗

Steam-engine thinking inside a petrol car

Delaunay-Belleville had patented pressure-feed lubrication for steam machinery before applying the idea to automobiles. A pump continuously circulated oil to the bearings while many contemporary cars still used multiple drip-feed pipes. The H4's careful lubrication and quiet running helped the marque earn a luxury reputation.

Source: Commercial Motor archive · The Avoidance of Smoke (1907) ↗

Where these facts come from

Selected facts checked for this edition. Some source pages link to broader model families. Last reviewed September 30, 2026.

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