24 eerie classics left to decay

Behind the scenes

In 1932, Ghislain Mahy established a car business in the Belgian city of Ghent which eventually included Nash, Fiat and Simca franchises.

After sons Ivan and Hans joined the business, DAF, Ford, Mercury, Toyota, Jaguar and Honda were added to the fold; eventually one in four cars sold in Ghent was supplied by the family.

‘Interesting’ trades were retained as the basis for a museum, with the Mahys also looking further afield. In 1954 the collection numbered 35 cars, 350 by 1963 and thrice that in 1985 – some derelict, some restored but most richly patinated.

From this collection, 230 cars are loaned to Autoworld Brussels, others are displayed in the Mahymobile Museum situated in ex-textile mills in Leuze-en-Hainaut, Belgium, 150km south-east of Calais.

Michel Mahy, son of Ivan, took charge of the collection in 2015 and has since downsized it by 25%, however the current collection still numbers around 900 including museum displays, vehicles on loan and the ‘back halls’.

Here we take an evocative glimpse of that collection – and if you want even more, a book (available in English, French and Dutch) can be bought online.

The first foray

Michel staged the ‘Mahy, A Family of Cars’ exhibition, featuring around 30 vehicles in original condition, in Ghent’s Vynckier site in October 2021.

And if you like the look of what you see here, you are in luck: he plans to stage similar showcases across Europe and further afield to “share the tranquil beauty of unique classic cars with wider audiences”.

By royal appointment

We start with this, the ex-King Baudoin 1952 Aston Martin drophead coupé, acquired during the early ’60s from a garage owner having a clear-out.

Unable to drive anonymously in the red convertible, the Belgian royal seldom used this car so soon sold it, but the new owner crashed it, and replaced the powertrain with Triumph components. 
 

Back for good

This 1954 Renault Galion R2165 was acquired in the late ’50s as a working vehicle to haul others about.

Mahy Snr replaced the load bed with that from a bigger lorry and added a winch. Later sold as scrap, it was reacquired for sentimental reasons.

The single-cylinder 1922 Le Zebre D8 seen on the rear was saved while en route to a scrapyard.

Golden wonder

This Allemano-bodied Maserati 2000 A6G GT, one of only 21 built, was purchased by Ivan – after reluctant approval from his father, who was not partial to Italian sports cars – with minor accident damage, having undergone a half-hearted restoration which saw the wheels painted gold.

The 120bhp 900kg car is unlikely to be restored on cost grounds.

Fab Facel

Fundamentally complete, this 1960 Facel Vega HK500 was acquired by Ghislain in 1972 at what is described as “a bargain price”, and little used thereafter until falling into total disuse – likely due to the heavy taxes on 330bhp 6.3-litre V8 cars in Belgium.

Its ultra-rare brightwork is said to be mainly intact.

Under orders

This two-seater VW Type 14A Hepmüller cabriolet was built under orders from British military commander Charles Radclyffe, who after the Second World War was seconded to VW Werke.

One of various VW Beetles in the collection, this car, one of 319 built in 1950, ended up in Switzerland and was offered to Ivan during the mid-’70s while on a classic car rally.

Lost and found

This Delahaye 135MS with Ghia-Aigle coachwork was the sister car to the coupé ordered by the Shah of Iran.

It was the star attraction at the 1948 Geneva motor show and thought lost, however, it was put in storage in Leuze after being swapped for a Facel Vega with a Dutch collector.

One interesting detail is that the wheel spats lift via levers to enable the tyres to be changed.

Last out the door

The last Delahaye kitted out by local coachbuilder Vanden Plas before folding in 1949, this 1947 135M cabriolet fitted with a Wilson preselector transmission was one of two – the other with Guilloré coachwork – acquired by the Mahys in 1972.

This car, with inset doorhandles, is unrestored and complete.

Showstopper

One of two Talbot-Lagos in the collection, this 170bhp T26 is one of 625 built during 1947 under the French government’s Pons Plan, which favoured bigger brands.

It is fitted with a Wilson preselector gearbox – known as ‘Ultramatic’ – and caused a sensation at that year’s Brussels show.

Seldom seen

In 1987 Ivan spotted this Chapron-bodied Autobleu with Renault 4CV mechanicals near the Eiffel Tower and made an offer to its artist owner.

Deal done, he towed it to Ghent where it remained until transfer to Leuze, still wearing Parisian plates. Renault later copied the air intake design for its Dauphine.

A survivor

This Austin Atlantic, a left-hand-drive car on account of its US target market, joined the collection at the end of the 1970s and is an exception in that it was not cannibalised for its common Austin-Healey parts.

Still, its rusty condition means it is unlikely to be restored.

Rusted ruin

Found in a complete state in a scrapyard in northern France during the late 1950s by Ghislain, this 1907 Panhard & Levassor 15hp commercial vehicle is a rusted ruin after languishing in the collection for over 60 years.

But it is very evocative.

A tale to tell

This 1956 Cadillac hearse with Fleetwood coachwork found in a Brussels suburb caused marital strife when Ivan insisted his wife Chris drive the car home after acquisition.

To make matters worse, she ran out of fuel en route and, with her purse in Ivan’s car, was left stranded!

American dreaming

Although Ghislain was no fan of US horsepower, Ivan and Michel were and thus this 1974 220bhp black-vinyl-over-metallic-green AMC Javelin joined the collection.

This automatic-transmission car is complete, although needing more than a little shampooing before being recommissioned…

Film-star friend

This 1943 Tatra T87 is one of 3000 built between 1936 and 1950.

It joined this collection in 1976 as a sister car to the black Tatraplan 600 the family already owned, which featured in L’Aveu, a French communist-era spy film starring Yves Montand.
 

Under American influence

Here we have a 1960 DKW 1000 SP ‘mini Thunderbird’ coupé.

It was acquired by Ghislain in 1977, being one of 5000 built by coachbuilder Baur on behalf of Auto Union, which, of course, mutated into VW-owned Audi during the late 1960s. 

Old-school elegance

The bigger, older brother to the SP 1000 – hence the shared four rings – this 1937 Horch Type 853 was sold to an Austrian heart-throb, then requisitioned by the Germans when he fell out of Nazi favour.

It was discovered in a Belgian barn, with Ghislain saving it from the scrapheap. He and the Horch starred as Rommel’s chauffeur/staff car in The Longest Day before it returned to storage, where it remains today.

Tow-car star

Collected from France by truck by a young Ivan and two friends – which dates this classic’s acquisition to the 1950s – the lorry carrying this 1913 Renault DM Torpedo broke down, so the 20bhp vehicle played tow car despite then being 40 years old!

It has sadly deteriorated since…

Mochet’s microcar

Charles Mochet initially built the pedal cars raced enthusiastically through Parisian parks by well-heeled children, but post-war he ‘grew’ them into microcars powered by Zürcher two-stroke engines.

This 1949 CM-125 model, discovered by Ghislain in France during the 1960s, is powered by a 3.5bhp version.   

Beautiful Benz

Originally sold to a German doctor, this 1934 Mercedes-Benz 130H (for heckmotor or rear-engined) cabriolet ended up in the hands of a Lyon collector with whom Ghislain regularly traded cars.

It is one of 2500 made during that first year of production and, even in this condition, these are rarely seen models.

Clandestine classic

Let’s rewind to the late 1980s. Ivan hears an anonymous seller has this (one of 63) 1949 Alfa Romeo 6C-2500 SS with Pininfarinia coachwork, so he heads for a secret Flemish rendezvous. Exciting.

Ivan makes an offer and it is ‘thought about’… Then, six months later the deal is on, provided it’s kept discreet – which is rather difficult when a row of trees need to be chopped down to extract the car!

Appearances deceive

No, this not a Bugatti, although we could forgive you for thinking it was and the collection features a number of them, despite Ghislain’s known dislike for the brand.

This is a self-built one-off, created in 1927 and modelled on a T30. It is the work of Maurice Badaroux, of whom little is known other than that an engineer of that name was awarded a connecting-rod patent in 1939.

The MB N501 joined the collection during the 1960s.

Accidental upgrade

Immediately post-war Ghislain drove a BMW 327, but later regretted selling it.

Then, 20 years later he heard about a similar car for sale in Luxembourg and bought it – only to discover it was one of 569 units fitted with the more powerful M328 competition engine. Its distinctive grille has subsequently gone missing.

Lying in wait

After the war, Ghislain gave his teenaged sons a car each, with Hans taking this 1074cc 1927 Amilcar CGSS and Ivan a Volugrafo Bimbo microcar.

While tearing up the garden they crashed, the Amilcar suffering a damaged wing and headlamp. It was pushed aside pending repairs; 70-plus years on it’s still waiting.

The baby of the bunch

Finally, we come to the youngest car in this exhibition.

It is a European specification Ford Capri 2.3 V6 – and in case you’re puzzled by the branding behind it, it is because this car has stickers from the same company affixed to its rear window!

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