An original thoroughbred, conceived to be an article of seduction, the De La Chapelle Roadster is aimed at lovers of a different sort of car. Real enthusiasts, the new owners of this car are interested in having a car worth keeping. They are the sort of people who want something more individual than the average sports car buyer.
As with every automobile built by De La Chapelle over the past 25 years, each Roadster is identified by a numbered plate. The 1999 model leads the way in the cabriolet market, offering more power allied to an even more finely tuned chassis and suspension whilst retaining the necessary tractability and versatility for daily use.
Two engines are available: 2 litres with 4 cylinders and the other of 3 litre capacity and 6 cylinders.
There are several choices where the horses are concerned: from 138 to 250 bhp+.
The engine is transversally mounted behind the driver like many notable sports and racing cars. This configuration optimizes the De La Chapelle Roadster's performance giving a car that is as agile on the road as it is on the track.
The steering is light and precise and the engine full of punch. The chassis (developed by Philippe Beloou who was the technical director at Automobiles Rondeau - the 1982 Le Mans champion), is taut and harmonious and gives the feeling of being totally at one with the road. The result is a very lively and highly useable car.
The design of this intoxicating car's flowing lines is signed Bertrand Barré, one of the most talented and prolific designers in France today and, incidentally, the designer of the Parcours concept-car.
The Roadster's body draws a fine line between the traditional and the modern. It is timeless, without embellishments. It seems to suggest a sprinter making a supreme effort. Taut, corded muscles full of dynamic movement. The beauty of pure performance. The thoroughbred 1999 De La Chapelle Roadster is for lovers of cars that are different. A De La Chapelle is always built in limited numbers and only for passionate connoisseurs who put the rare and the exclusive first.
The roadster's place on the market
We wanted to create a contemporary roadster steeped in the great French sporting automobile tradition.
More than just a doffing of its cap at the past, the Roadster manages to preserve the timeless values of a certain driving pleasure and to share them with real enthusiasts.
Significant performance
Only six seconds to reach 60 mph and a top speed of 140 mph (on the test track, of course!). Pure performance under these circumstances doesn't necessarily mean much to the owner however. This is why the Roadster is far removed from ordinary cabriolets with stifled performance because we have strived to retain all the qualities of exciting sensations. Is there a better way to rediscover the sublime pleasure of sporty driving ?
A car for daily use
Our engineers were guided by another philosophy - to create a car with an exclusive appearance whilst preservin g genuine ease of use. As with any production cabriolet you have the usual comforts : electric windows, tonneau cover, a useful boot and even a hard top. Added to all this is the spice of a sensational machine, visibly very different.
A unique market position
This is a car perfect for daily use and it is really not expensive to keep considering its performance, thanks to its Peugeot production engine. This is the perfect marriage of proven mechanicals to a rare and original car of stunning and exclusive appearance. Numerous extras and options mean you can personalize it to your individual taste as well.
Our client
Is a connoisseur of independant mind who seeks out things different. He loves beautiful things and above all, beautiful cars - real cars, which he appreciates with the critical eye of the collector.
For more than 20 years, De La Chapelle has had a very special vision of the automobile; that it should always be an object of desire, of pleasure and of emotion for the Company's staff and their clients. Tradition and innovation have always been allied, since the very beginnings of the marque, to bring into being a harmonious synthesis : the Bugatti Roadsters range associates the image of huge, legendary monsters of yore with ultra-modern BMW mechanicals. And the Parcours concept-car, with its powerful Mercedes V8 engine, limousine and MPV at the same time, renders hi-tech homage to past great vessels of the road.
http://delachapelle.com/us/auto_roadster_01.php
And it's still in production
