Hail the Vauxhall Prince Henry, Britain’s first road car designed for pure enjoyment. Malcolm Thorne gets the rare privilege of a proper drive
Certain everyday objects are so ubiquitous, it can be a struggle to imagine an age where they didn’t yet exist. Think of the ballpoint pen or the sliced wholemeal loaf. To those of us, for instance, who occupy a world of oily fingernails, carburettors and owners’ clubs, there is nothing more ubiquitous than the Great British sports car. There was, of course, a time when such a concept had yet to emerge, but that idea is somehow puzzling. And to those with but a superficial knowledge of our rich motoring heritage, it’s maybe perplexing that the car widely considered as the prototype British sports model came from a marque better known today for mass-market hatchbacks. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the origin of the species: the Vauxhall Prince Henry.
The Vauxhall Iron Works – named after the London borough it called home – was founded in 1857. The company specialised in pumps and marine engines, but in 1903 it branched out into the avant-garde world of the horseless carriage, offering a single-cylinder 5hp model with chaindrive and tiller steering. In 1905 the firm moved to new premises in Luton, and by 1907 it had been renamed Vauxhall Motors. A plethora of quality three-, four- and six-cylinder machines ensued, establishing the enterprise among the upper echelons of early British manufacturers until its acquisition by General Motors in 1925 shifted focus to more mainstream products.
This story is from the March 2018 edition of Classic & Sports Car.
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This story is from the March 2018 edition of Classic & Sports Car.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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