Look on www.andysaunders.net, and you’ll find a full rundown of the UK’s best known customiser’s output to date. It’s impressive, spanning four decades and covering everything from chopped Minis and an asymmetric 2CV to replicas of one-off concept cars and designs born purely out of Andy’s own head. As back catalogues go, it’s among the most extensive and diverse of all custom car builders the world over.
In recent times, however, Andy has been delving deeper into the roots of customisation. And by that we don’t mean the early pioneers in America who were chopping and sectioning 1940s’ and 50s’ Fords and Mercurys, but the European coachbuilders who were building entire car bodies from scratch at a time when, if you knew the right people, you could have a truly unique automobile built that echoed your position of unbridled privilege.
Unsurprisingly, the leading exponents of the craft came from Italy and France, countries that have always had an inherent sense of style and couture. Names like Giuseppe Figoni and Jacques Saoutchik crafted outstanding automobiles on the chassis of luxury cars of the 1930s and ’40s such as Delahaye, Hispano-Suiza and Talbot-Lago.
The car Andy cites as his main influence is the 1949 Delahaye 175S with bodywork by Russian-born Frenchman Jacques Saoutchik. The ultraextravagant two-seater roadster was commissioned by disgraced British property tycoon Sir John Gaul, who reputedly gave it to British actress Diana Dors before she even had a driving licence. Features such as its fully enclosed wheels, sweeping chrome trim and clear Lucite steering wheel are all evident on Andy’s Deja.
After touring the concours circuit for a few years, the car ended up in America where its Delahaye engine and front suspension were replaced with those of an Olds Toronado. It was eventually restored and re-appeared at the Pebble Beach Concours in 2006
