The 4061 cc engine of the original D8 placed it in the 23CV car tax band which also defined its position high up in the market hierarchy.

Delage provided rolling chassis to be bodied and fitted out by prestigious carroussiers such as Letourneur et Marchand and Chapron operating (in most cases) in the Paris area.

It was launched when the European economy was still reeling from the aftermath of the 1929 stock market crashes – though cars at this level were never intended to sell in large numbers.

By taking sales from other top end auto-makers such as, in particular, Bugatti, the D8 became one of the best known products of what subsequently came to be known as a "golden age" for low-volume expensive and luxurious cars in France.

The lesser performance of this version of the Delage D8 moved the model downmarket in the direction of volume automakers such as Citroën who were already working on a 16 CV six-cylinder version of their newly introduced Traction Avant model (although the project seems to have been a low priority for Citroën and the car in question would only appear in the market, initially very cautiously, in June 1938).

Walter Watney, the British-born entrepreneurs who established in 1935 the Delage sales and marketing company "SAFAD"[2] remained in post till 1940.

The solution already in place by 1936 involved continuing production of Delage engines and retaining other mechanical components, but installing them on existing Delahaye chassis.

Coachbuilders who had traditionally worked closely with Delage during the years of independence, chief among them Letourneur & Marchand and their subsidiary, Autobineau, were also responsible for many eye catching D8 bodied cars during this time.

However, with the declaration of war in 1939 and the invasion of northern France, in 1940, passenger car production came to an end, as the Delahaye plant was taken over by the German military occupation.