At the beginning of the 20th century they were among the most prestigious cars produced in the world. The Delaunay-Belleville were favorite automobiles of Russian Tsar Nicholas II. Jules Bonnot, the famous French anarchist gangster, used a Delaunay-Belleville for his first hold-up.
Most of the models were powered by six-inline engines, whose round radiator made them easily identifiable. By the late 1920s the Delaunay-Belleville had lost its prestige and converted to truck and military vehicles production.