Stafford Special

1936 Stafford Single Seater

Offered by H&H Auctioneers | Duxford, U.K. | September 8, 2021

Photo – H&H Auctioneers

This one-off single-seater special is sort of like the British version of an early-1930s “junk formula” Indy car. Except that instead of having history at Indianapolis, this car has history at Brooklands. But first, the story of its creation.

It was built by Rodney Stafford between 1936 and 1938 utilizing a specially built Blaker Engineering Company chassis and a supercharged 1.5-liter Meadows inline-four. The aluminum body work was shaped in the aerodynamics of the day and is pure function.

It competed at Brooklands, before the war broke out, against the likes of Bugattis, Maseratis, and Altas. Its competition history picked back up after the war and continued throughout the 1940s. This one-of-one period race car carries a pre-sale estimate of $90,000-$115,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Not sold, Bonhams Beaulieu 2022.

Alvis TC 21/100

1952 Alvis TC 21/100 Drophead Coupe

Offered by H&H Auctioneers | Duxford, U.K. | September 8, 2021

Photo – H&H Auctioneers

The Alvis TC 21 was sold in two forms, the first being the TC 21. It was only offered as a four-door sedan, although that didn’t stop coachbuilders such as Graber from turning it into a two-door convertible. The car was introduced in 1953.

Later that year, Alvis tweaked the formula a bit, offering the TC 21/100, aka the Grey Lady. It featured a top speed of 100 mph thanks to a revised exhaust and an increased compression ratio in the 3.0-liter inline-six. The TC 21/100 was offered as a drophead coupe, with bodies like this one sourced from Tickford.

Only 757 examples were produced between the standard TC 21 and the Grey Lady through 1955, making it about twice as rare as the TA 21 that preceded it and way more common than the ultra-rate TC 108G that came later. This one is expected to fetch between $96,000-$116,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Alvis TA21

1953 Alvis TA21 Drophead Coupe

Offered by H&H Auctioneers | Duxford, U.K. | September 8, 2021

Photo – H&H Auctioneers

We’ve featured a good number of post-war Alvis sports cars. Okay, so they aren’t that sporty. But they were two-door coupes or drophead coupes, which are inherently sportier than sedans. The TA21 was the first of the “21”-suffix cars and was Alvis’s first new post-war car.

The TA21 was produced from 1950 through 1953. It’s powered by a 3.0-liter inline-six fitted with a single Solex carburetor for a factory rating of 83 horsepower. Top speed was 88 mph. Two body styles were offered: a sedan and a rarer drophead coupe, the latter of which carried a body by Tickford.

This particular car carries a later engine from a TC21. There were 1,316 TA21s produced, only 302 of which were convertibles. This one is selling at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $38,641.

Daimler DB18

1951 Daimler DB18 Special Sports

Offered by H&H Auctioneers | Duxford, U.K. | September 8, 2021

Photo – H&H Auctioneers

Daimler’s DB18 was introduced just prior to the start of WWII in 1939. Production obviously halted while the fighting raged, but Daimler popped it right back into production after the war. The car was sold as the “Consort” in export markets, where it proved very popular in India.

The DB18 was based on the pre-war New Fifteen model, but instead of that car’s 2.1-liter engine, the DB18 received a new 2.5-liter inline-six rated at 70 horsepower with a single Solex carburetor. Top speed in 1951 was 82 mph.

The first cars were all coachbuilt, but Daimler ended up selling a popular sedan that was bodied in-house. Only 608 Special Sport models were produced between 1946 and 1953, making this car pretty rare. It carries drophead coupe by by Barker as well as a pre-sale estimate of $48,000-$55,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $44,823.

Austin A90 Atlantic

1952 Austin A90 Atlantic Sports Saloon

Offered by H&H Auctioneers | Duxford, U.K. | May 26, 2021

Photo – H&H Auctioneers

The Austin A90 Atlantic was sold in two forms between 1949 and 1952. Initially launched as a two-door, four-seat convertible, the Sports Saloon hardtop variant replaced it for 1951 and 1952. It was one of Austin’s first clean-sheet post-war designs, and it’s a pretty attractive sporty car.

Power comes from a 2.7-liter inline-four that was rated at 88 horsepower. This was the same engine later used in the Austin-Healey 100. Top speed was 91 mph, and 60 arrived in a spirited 16.6 seconds.

Between the two different body styles, there were 7,981 examples produced. A handful (350) were exported to the U.S. This one wears an older restoration and carries a pre-sale estimate of $16,000-$19,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $19,513.

1936 Albion Van

1936 Albion SPL 126 Van

Offered by H&H Auctioneers | Duxford, U.K. | April 14, 2021

Photo – H&H Auctioneers

Glasgow, Scotland-based Albion produced passenger cars for a short time until 1915 and, afterward, concentrated exclusively on commercial vehicles. This would be what the company is remembered for, and production of these continued until 1972.

We’ve featured a few Albion commercial vehicles in the past, including a truck from about this era. This delivery van carries a livery for a producer of Swiss Rolls and was apparently delivered new to this company. It was restored between 2005 and 2008 and has been fitted with overdrive, allowing it to hit about 55 mph. This makes it somewhat usable, especially if you’re a business owner looking to advertise (though it would be a shame to lose this livery). Power is from an inline-four of unknown displacement or output.

Bonhams sold this truck in 2013 for $26,000, and it now carries an estimate of $20,000-$25,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $29,469.

Morris CS8

1935 Morris Commercial CS8

Offered by H&H Auctioneers | Duxford, U.K. | April 14, 2021

Photo – H&H Auctioneers

This thing is awesome. Let’s start with Morris Commercial, which was – as you’ve probably guessed – the commercial vehicle arm of British automaker Morris. It was founded in 1924 and was phased out during the British Leyland consolidation of the late 1960s.

The original CS8 was introduced in 1934 and used a 24-horsepower inline-six engine. They were built in every imaginable body style variant that the military could need. The big problem was that they were very heavy and only rear-wheel drive. Production lasted through 1942 when it was replaced by the 4×4 C4, which was in turn replaced by the popular C8 in 1944.

H&H describes this as the “finest example” they’ve ever encountered. I mean, I have never seen another one, but I can’t imagine there is a nicer one around. The pre-sale estimate is $55,000-$69,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Austin Seven

1927 Austin Seven Chummy

Offered by H&H Auctioneers | Duxford, U.K. | April 14, 2021

Photo – H&H Auctioneers

The Austin Seven (or 7) was a landmark British car. It was like the British Model T – it was extremely popular, cheap, and reliable. It helped put the UK on wheels. It was introduced in 1923, and variants of it remained in production until 1939. The car was licensed all over the world, including by Rosengart in France, BMW in Germany, and American Austin in the US. Its legendary status was cemented when the original Mini was launched in 1959 as the “Austin Seven.”

The 747cc inline-four made approximately seven horsepower, hence the name. It had a three-speed manual gearbox and what we now think of as “conventional” controls. Quite a few body syles were offered, including this four-seat “Chummy” tourer.

This particular car has been in dry storage for some time and could probably do for some reconditioning. It is selling at no reserve alongside a few other Seven variants. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $15,929.

Mitsubishi Starion

1989 Mitsubishi Starion EX

Offered by H&H Auctioneers | Duxford, U.K. | October 14, 2020

Photo – H&H Auctioneers

Mitsubishi is sort of hanging on by a thread in the U.S. right now. But remember 25-30 years ago when they made awesome stuff? Between the Starion, the 3000GT, and the Eclipse, Mitsubishi was hot in the 90s. And through a weird bade-engineering agreement, all three of those cars were offered as Chrysler products in the U.S.

The Starion was offered between 1983 and 1989, and was also used as a successful rally car in the late 1980s. While always a hatchback, the Starion was offered in two body styles: narrow or wide-body. This is a widebody example with boxed fender flares. It’s awesome.

All Starions were turbocharged, although two different engines were offered. This one is powered by the smaller 2.0-liter turbo inline-four that was rated at 178 horsepower. The EX was the luxury model in the European market. North American trim levels were completely different. The pre-sale estimate is $17,000-$19,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $19,615.

Overland Model 83

1916 Overland Model 83 Tourer

Offered by H&H Auctioneers | Duxford, U.K. | October 14, 2020

Photo – H&H Auctioneers

John Willys bought Overland in 1908, with the company fully merging to become Willys-Overland in 1912. But the Overland marque remained separate from Willys, which didn’t actually start producing cars until 1915. Overland, which sold its first car in 1903, continued on as its own marque until 1926.

The auction catalog lists this as a 1915 Willys Model 83, but Willys never made a Model 83. Overland, however, did. And they did so in 1916. The Model 83 is powered by a 35-horsepower inline-four and rides on a 106″ wheelbase.

It was the nicer of the two Overland models for 1916 and was offered in quite a few different body styles, including the $750-when-new five-passenger touring. It is now expected to fetch between $9,000-$11,500. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $13,367.