Lot Ended
Description
In single-family ownership for 50+ years; restored in the mid-1970s
and has covered 28k miles since; veteran of many Continental tours; just
recommissioned following five years in storage; a rare top quality motorcar that
runs very nicely
Genius is a much
over-used word but the Lanchester brothers displayed it in spades. Prolifically
inventive, George and Frederick filed hundreds of patents between them as they
designed and constructed from scratch all the components needed to build
Britain’s first ever petrol-powered four-seat passenger car, a feat they
achieved in 1895.
Over the next 30 years they pioneered innumerable
features that we now take for granted including turbochargers; fuel injection;
disc brakes; epicyclic gearing; detachable wire wheels; stamped steel pistons;
piston rings; hollow con rods; the torsional vibration damper and the harmonic
balancer. Indeed, Autocar once wrote that of the 36 primary
features in modern motorcars, Frederick alone was responsible for 18 of
them.
If they had a blind spot it was commercial
acumen, their refusal to compromise on engineering excellence leaving them
vulnerable to changing market conditions. So when they launched their new range
of six- and eight-cylinder 21hp and 31hp models just before the Great
Depression, it was not long before the bank came knocking.
In 1930, with debts of over £38,000, the company was purchased lock,
stock and barrel for just £26,000 by the BSA concern. They moved Lanchester
production to the Daimler works in Coventry and things were never quite the same
after that.
First registered in Birmingham in
October 1924, this imposing Lanchester 21hp Limousine was originally owned by
Lanchester themselves for use a press car and was featured in many period road
tests, as confirmed by Lanchester Register correspondence on file.
Costing £1,747 new (deliberately priced £50
below the rival Rolls-Royce 20hp), the 21hp was powered by a 3.3-litre overhead
cam six-cylinder engine producing 60bhp (7bhp more than the Rolls 20) allied to
a four-speed gearbox which gave it a top speed of 70mph.
The first Lanchester to have four-wheel brakes, it also had
Lanchester’s fabled ride quality: “No other motorcar maker has ever received
quite so much of the sincerest form of flattery as have Lanchester for their
suspension system”, said Country Life in 1928. “The car seems glued to
the road, free of pitch or jolt at all speeds. To eulogise the springing would
be merely to gild the lily – to criticise would be childish”.
Once released from press duties, this Lanchester
Limousine rather disappeared from view but the story picks up again in 1970 by
which time it was owned by a Mr FR Dowd, owner of a carpet shop in Nantwich, who
also had another Lanchester straight-eight in his stable. Our vendor had gone to
buy a Sunbeam engine from Mr Dowd and spotted the Lanchester 21hp languishing
under a tarpaulin in his garden, the engine in a dismantled state.
In 1971 he finally persuaded Mr Dowd to sell it
to him, the invoice showing that he paid £1,385 – a substantial sum which would
have bought you two brand new Minis or a new Ford Granada at the time.
Quite apart from being an automotive historian
of some repute, our vendor is also a trained physicist and aeronautical
engineer with an impressive collection of Vintage cars, many of which he
has restored himself. Over the next five years he treated the Lanchester to
a body-off restoration while preserving as much originality as possible.
The engine and all other mechanical aspects were
rebuilt as required but the body needed little more than a fresh coat of paint
and the interior was kept original, including the seat stuffings – horsehair for
the chauffeur and feathers for the rear passengers who also had ivory door
handles, silk roller blinds, a silver ashtray and two Beford cord occasional
seats.
From 1976 – 2000 the Lanchester was in
regular use, 32 old MOTs showing that it clocked up some 28,000 miles during
this period. This included many VSCC events plus several trips to France and
Spain on rallies, attending the Lanchester Centenary celebrations in Birmingham
in 1995 and also twice winning the VSCC Lanchester Trophy in driving tests held
to celebrate the 60th and 65th anniversaries of the Club.
Kept in dry storage for the last five years, the
Limousine was recommissioned for the sale and taken on a 50-mile test drive with
no problems whatsoever until, a mile before reaching home, the coil and magneto
ignition system failed.
The vendor states – “I
have now sorted this out after a fair bit of detective work so the car runs well
on the coil, there being a dual ignition system with separate plugs. There is a
spare working magneto included with the car but I ran out of time to fit this as
it is not a five minute job, being bolted on and chain driven from inside the
crankcase. The water pump also leaks when the car is parked up with the engine
off, but it works fine and does not leak when the engine is running, this
seeming to be a feature of these cars”.
Supplied
with various invoices for routine upkeep over the years, the history file also
includes the current V5C (which erroneously records the cylinder capacity as
2,687cc); older V5 and green logbook; many old MOTs; copies of VSCC papers;
correspondence from the Lanchester Register; USB stick with period road tests
and historic photos; notes from the vendor; some useful technical literature
plus an original 21hp Instruction Manual.
As you
can see in the photos, this exceedingly rare Lanchester 21hp is a very
impressive machine with bags of character. It has been starting promptly and
running beautifully as we have moved it around on site.
On offer here at a very modest guide price, it now needs another
caring new owner who can continue to enjoy and preserve it as our vendor’s
family have these past 50+ years.
Consigned by James Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com