Just when you thought you’ve seen it all, take a look at this wildly rare 1956 Talbot-Lago T14 LS (Sport), a car that was developed by French automobile manufacturer, Talbot-Lago in just 54 total units for the entire world. Talbot-Lago was owned by Italian engineer and motor-industry entrepreneur, Antonio Lago, and the company was first ever founded in 1936. In 1959, the Talbot-Lago company officially went defunct, but not before the company would create some impressive models, this being one of them. In 1954, during the Salon de L'Automobile de Paris that year, Talbot-Lago introduced an all new, 2,491 cc 4-cylinder engine known as the T14 LS, however, it wouldn’t be until one year later that the company would have a car to go along with that engine. During the 1995 Paris Motor Show, Talbot-Lago introduced this special car shown here, the T14 LS (Sport). The car boasted a beautiful body design by Facel-Métallon, and initially, the first car was developed using all-aluminum bodywork, however, the later cars used steel construction. Unfortunately, despite it’s unique styling and seemingly impressive performance, the T14 LS was the last ever model produced by Talbot-Lago, and eventually, the Talbot-Lago engine was replaced with a BMW unit, and was later rebadged to become the ‘Talbot-Lago America’. The engine used on the later cars appeared in 1957, a 2580cc BMW V8, and just one year after that, in 1958, Lago sold the Talbot-Lago company to car merchant and industrialist, and President at the time of French automaker, Société Industrielle de Mécanique et Carrosserie Automobile (SIMCA), Henri Pigozzi. The sale was finalized by 1959, and the Talbot-Lago T14 LS subsequently found it’s way over the years into the category of vehicles that should have been developed in higher numbers, but nevertheless, even though the model wasn’t quite the success, it leaves it to be one of the rarest cars on the road today!
How many made? 54
Engine: 2491 cc I4, 120 hp (89 kW), 2476 cc V8, 138 hp (103 kW) (BMW), 2351 cc V8, 95 hp (71 kW) (Simca)
Debut: 1995 Paris Motor Show
Top speed: around 120mph
0-60mph: n/a
Photo credit: @autocitroem
Research: @rarecarsonly