Description
Bonhams are delighted to offer at our forthcoming Collectors' Motor Car Auction on Saturday 1st September 2018 at The National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, Hampshire 132 collectors motor cars. The full online catalogue can be viewed at - details above. For further images and information on this lot, please follow the link.
1927 WILLYS-OVERLAND WHIPPET 30HP TOURER
REGISTRATION NO. BF 6957
CHASSIS NO. 19071551
* Landmark American motor car
* Restored in New Zealand in 2008
* Imported from Australia in 2016
* Outstanding condition
* Comprehensive history file
* Eligible for VSCC events
£15, 000 - 20, 000
€17, 000 - 22, 000
The original Overland car was developed in the early 1900s by the Standard Wheel Company of Terre Haut, Indiana that had already changed hands once before John North Willys, a New York auto dealer and major Overland customer, arrived to rescue it from oblivion in 1907. Building four-cylinder cars only from 1910, the revitalised company went from strength to strength, production increasing steadily until by the start of WWI only Ford could claim a higher output. Willys even had the temerity to introduce a direct competitor to Ford's Model T but by the time the Overland Model 4 arrived in time for the 1920 season its $945-upwards price tag (more than double that of the equivalent Model T) placed it in an entirely different market sector. The Model 4's combination of a 27hp, four-cylinder engine and 100" wheelbase would remain a feature of the range until the Overland's deletion at the end of 1926. The car was also manufactured under licence in the UK at Heaton Chapel, Stockport, Cheshire by Willys-Overland-Crossley, a subsidiary of Crossley Motors Limited.
Although the Overland had gone, Willys had something entirely new up his sleeve: the Whippet, which had been developed along European lines with assistance from Crossley. America's smallest car at the time of its introduction in late 1926, the Whippet was as swift as its name suggested and boasted a most impressive specification: four-wheel brakes, a seven-bearing crankshaft and full-pressure lubrication all being parts of a competitively priced package that sold for less than $1, 000. Four-cylinder 30hp and six-cylinder 40hp versions were offered. Built to a high standard that belied its competitive pricing, the Whippet was an outstanding success, selling 110, 000 units in its first year and helping to propel Willys-Overland into 3rd place behind Chevrolet and Ford in 1928. Produced for only four years, the Whippet was a casualty of the Wall Street Crash and ensuing Depression, ceasing production early in 1931.
Dating from the first full year of production, this original right-hand drive Whippet was restored in 2008 in New Zealand and imported from Australia in 2016. Described as in generally very good/ excellent condition, the car comes with a wonderful history file containing a photographic record of the restoration, sundry receipts for maintenance, owner's handbook, operation manual, current MoT certificate, V5C document, and other various other items. Boasting a rear-mounted spare wheel and luggage rack, this is a practical Vintage-era touring car eligible for VSCC events, and is very sensibly estimated.
