c. 1912 Vauxhall 16/20hp Prince Henry Recreation
c. 1912 Vauxhall 16/20hp Prince Henry Recreation
Registration no. BF 5481
Chassis no. to be advised
Engine no. A.11.425
• Re-creation of the Swedish Winter Trial car of 1912
• Based on an ex-Julian Ghosh 'kit'
• Built by the vendor, an acknowledged expert on Edwardian Vauxhalls
• Later 3-litre 16/20hp engine
• Constructed between 1998 and 2010
• Successfully completed Great Winter Reliability Trial centenary event in 2012
The car offered here is a wonderful evocation of the 21hp Prince Henry Vauxhall driven by Percy Kidner in the Swedish Winter Trial of 1912. To our vendor, an enthusiast greatly interest in the early sporting Vauxhalls and their achievements, the prospect of recreating the aforementioned works car was an opportunity not to be missed.
The project started in 1998 with an ex-Julian Ghosh 'kit' consisting of an Edwardian Vauxhall from Charlie Baynard Smith. The kit was a mixture of Edwardian and Vintage parts and with various additions was used to make two cars: an Edwardian Vauxhall and a 30-98 E-Type of 1920 vintage. Missing parts were obtained from various sources, the radiator being made by Star Engineering and miscellaneous components sourced from Australia.
By the end of 2003 almost all of the required parts had been acquired by the vendor, so James Gunn was commissioned to complete the assembly, tune the engine and test drive the car before returning it to the vendor. Jarvis & Son was commissioned to make the ash frame, based on photographs of the 1912 car. The ash frame came back from the Jarvis's and in the summer of 2009 the car was driven around James's field to our vendor's great satisfaction. Over the course of that autumn, Geoff Brown skinned the body frame and made the bonnet and wings. During the ensuing winter Ross Keeling painted the body to as close as possible a copy of the dark green paintwork of the original 1912 car, and in April 2010 the body went to Barton & Son in Luton for trimming.
The car was built to C.10 specification with engine number 'A.11.425'. The latter had been cut into sections in Australia but has been beautifully repaired by Arthur Sosbe. It is a later 16/20hp A-Type monobloc of 90x120mm bore/stroke displacing 3,054cc. The restored gearbox is the later Edwardian type (circa 1916) with an eccentrically mounted lay-shaft. The chassis is an original Vauxhall A.12 frame, narrowed and shortened to C.10 specification, which carries a narrow four-seater touring body of 1912-period style, as reported above.
In May 2010 the painted and upholstered body was fitted to the car; the VSCC issued a Validation Certificate and the DVLA allocated the age-related registration 'BF 5481'. The car was ready in time for its public debut at the Prince Henry Centenary Celebration at Shelsley Walsh on 17th/18th July of that year.
The car's first real test took place in 2012 when the vendor drove it to Sweden to commemorate the centenary of the Great Winter Reliability Trial of 1912, starting on Sunday 20th May at the Tjoloholm Rally, south of Gottenburg. The celebrations took in various venues, and by the time the event had finished 'BF 5481' had covered 620 miles in 22 hours of driving, spread over four days. With the open roads and low volume of traffic in Sweden, it was easy to cover 40 miles in an hour and the car cruised at 55-60mph without any mechanical trouble and fuel consumption of around 30 miles per gallon.
The 3-litre Prince Henry Vauxhall has survived in only very small numbers: two in the UK plus this car, and two in Australia with another in construction, out of a total production of around 60. By comparison, approximately 150 of the 4-litre cars were made between 1913 and 1915, and more survive.
The 1911 car in the Vauxhall Heritage Centre was rarely put on the road before 2003, while the sole surviving 3½-litre car, brought back to the UK from Australia around a decade ago by Chris Lambert, is rarely driven on the road. Naturally, our vendor was interested to see how his car would perform on its lengthy Swedish trip journey. To his pleasure, he found it a nimble little car, great fun to drive with an easy gear change and a lively performance, so it must have been very impressive in its heyday over 100 years ago.
This Prince Henry is very well known in VSCC circles and in its Scottish Borders home, where it has been extensively campaigned. The car is said to be in good running order and was last driven on public roads in September 2023.
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c. 1912 Vauxhall 16/20hp Prince Henry Recreation
Registration no. BF 5481
Chassis no. to be advised
Engine no. A.11.425
• Re-creation of the Swedish Winter Trial car of 1912
• Based on an ex-Julian Ghosh 'kit'
• Built by the vendor, an acknowledged expert on Edwardian Vauxhalls
• Later 3-litre 16/20hp engine
• Constructed between 1998 and 2010
• Successfully completed Great Winter Reliability Trial centenary event in 2012
The car offered here is a wonderful evocation of the 21hp Prince Henry Vauxhall driven by Percy Kidner in the Swedish Winter Trial of 1912. To our vendor, an enthusiast greatly interest in the early sporting Vauxhalls and their achievements, the prospect of recreating the aforementioned works car was an opportunity not to be missed.
The project started in 1998 with an ex-Julian Ghosh 'kit' consisting of an Edwardian Vauxhall from Charlie Baynard Smith. The kit was a mixture of Edwardian and Vintage parts and with various additions was used to make two cars: an Edwardian Vauxhall and a 30-98 E-Type of 1920 vintage. Missing parts were obtained from various sources, the radiator being made by Star Engineering and miscellaneous components sourced from Australia.
By the end of 2003 almost all of the required parts had been acquired by the vendor, so James Gunn was commissioned to complete the assembly, tune the engine and test drive the car before returning it to the vendor. Jarvis & Son was commissioned to make the ash frame, based on photographs of the 1912 car. The ash frame came back from the Jarvis's and in the summer of 2009 the car was driven around James's field to our vendor's great satisfaction. Over the course of that autumn, Geoff Brown skinned the body frame and made the bonnet and wings. During the ensuing winter Ross Keeling painted the body to as close as possible a copy of the dark green paintwork of the original 1912 car, and in April 2010 the body went to Barton & Son in Luton for trimming.
The car was built to C.10 specification with engine number 'A.11.425'. The latter had been cut into sections in Australia but has been beautifully repaired by Arthur Sosbe. It is a later 16/20hp A-Type monobloc of 90x120mm bore/stroke displacing 3,054cc. The restored gearbox is the later Edwardian type (circa 1916) with an eccentrically mounted lay-shaft. The chassis is an original Vauxhall A.12 frame, narrowed and shortened to C.10 specification, which carries a narrow four-seater touring body of 1912-period style, as reported above.
In May 2010 the painted and upholstered body was fitted to the car; the VSCC issued a Validation Certificate and the DVLA allocated the age-related registration 'BF 5481'. The car was ready in time for its public debut at the Prince Henry Centenary Celebration at Shelsley Walsh on 17th/18th July of that year.
The car's first real test took place in 2012 when the vendor drove it to Sweden to commemorate the centenary of the Great Winter Reliability Trial of 1912, starting on Sunday 20th May at the Tjoloholm Rally, south of Gottenburg. The celebrations took in various venues, and by the time the event had finished 'BF 5481' had covered 620 miles in 22 hours of driving, spread over four days. With the open roads and low volume of traffic in Sweden, it was easy to cover 40 miles in an hour and the car cruised at 55-60mph without any mechanical trouble and fuel consumption of around 30 miles per gallon.
The 3-litre Prince Henry Vauxhall has survived in only very small numbers: two in the UK plus this car, and two in Australia with another in construction, out of a total production of around 60. By comparison, approximately 150 of the 4-litre cars were made between 1913 and 1915, and more survive.
The 1911 car in the Vauxhall Heritage Centre was rarely put on the road before 2003, while the sole surviving 3½-litre car, brought back to the UK from Australia around a decade ago by Chris Lambert, is rarely driven on the road. Naturally, our vendor was interested to see how his car would perform on its lengthy Swedish trip journey. To his pleasure, he found it a nimble little car, great fun to drive with an easy gear change and a lively performance, so it must have been very impressive in its heyday over 100 years ago.
This Prince Henry is very well known in VSCC circles and in its Scottish Borders home, where it has been extensively campaigned. The car is said to be in good running order and was last driven on public roads in September 2023.
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