Beschreibung
Lot 9
Please note: This car is NOT available to buy before the Auction. We also offer Commission bids, telephone bids, Internet bidding as well as in person bidding.
1932 Wolseley Hornet ‘March’ Special – the demonstrator car for 1932-34
Reg. no. GX 9443
Car no. 106315 (recorded by Barry at the time of discovery, original plate still present))
Chassis no. 264-65 (recorded by Barry at the time of discovery, and on chassis plate)
Engine no. 228/ A65
Kevill-Davies & March Ltd was a partnership formed in 1929 between Lord Freddy March and Hugh Kevill-Davies, an association which began when both were employed at Bentley Motors. After a short but successful career as a racing driver, Lord March was firmly established in the current motoring scene. With his artistic ability and natural understanding of line and symmetry, it was not surprising that he developed his ideas by styling sports and touring cars of the period. With the assistance of Rivers Fletcher, what has been described as the ‘March Line’, was produced in 1932 on the Wolseley Hornet Special chassis. There would seem to be no precedent for the long elegant wings at the time, since most sporting cars were produced with cycle-type mudguards, but from late 1932 long flowing wings were in vogue.
In 1967 Barry Trevarrow recorded a Wolseley Hornet Special, minus two front wheels, abandoned in ‘Peacocks’ chalk pit in Wiltshire, which had been partly destroyed and vandalised. Jack Nichols had recovered the engine in 1967/ 8, local scrap merchants stripped the alloy off the body and Barry recovered as much as he could carry at the time, including part of the windscreen frame, the dashboard, the spare wheel carrier, wings and ‘March’ horn badge. Over the years Barry traced and recovered most of the mechanical parts but efforts to trace any documentation proved unsuccessful, due mainly to the fact that the car had been ‘cleared’ as unclaimed goods from RAF Upavon at some time in the 1960s by a local resident. Twenty years later Barry returned to the pit and rediscovered the chassis complete with firewall and identity plates. In 1986 Barry was able to take possession of the chassis and therefore he had possession of the whole car. In February 1988 Barry found the engine block and two wheels; the original engine block is present but is not part of the restored engine. Over many years, a great deal of research into this and other March Specials ensued, correspondence in the folder includes letters to and from The Earl of March, Rivers Fletcher and Michael Worthington-Williams.
GX 9443 the ‘33’ version, was the prototype for a production run of under 25 cars, and probably coachbuilt by Whittingham & Mitchel. GX 9443 had been first photographed in July/ August 1932 by Charles Bowers who did the publicity work for Kevill-Davies & March Ltd, (endorsed by Monty Bowers who was present when his father C. K. Bowers took the photographs) and was used by Autocar in their driving test August 1932. It was the demonstrator car for the company who sold cars as the ‘March Special’. The demonstrator had special features, the most prominent of which included a special ‘March’ badge on the horn, mounted in front of the radiator, and spare wheel carrier with the word ‘March’ engraved. The first March Hornet was GX 16, the second version was GX 9443, and this demonstration car was shown in all subsequent adverts. In the Light Car and Cyclecar of August 12th GX 9443 was featured in a full-page driving report complete with ‘rear tank protected with wooden slat armouring’.
Barry’s long-term research supported his early hypothesis that this car was GX 9443, for example the ‘standard’ March did not have this type of horn or the double arched scuttle and the demonstrator had chromed wheels, horn and chromed hinges. Interestingly GX 9443 was also tested in Wiltshire in August 1932. According to Rivers Fletcher, The Earl of March’s own demonstrator was built in aluminium, yet all production cars were in steel. Did the Earl of March own GX 9443?
The car has been partly restored over many years, the bodywork has been skinned in alloy and a new bonnet made to the original pattern. The engine has by repute been rebuilt and most parts are present to finish the restoration of this exciting and historically important motor car. In the file are the original chassis plate, original ‘March’ horn badge, a set of three rebuilt SU carburettors, ‘March’ spare wheel spinner etc. plus a huge quantity of literature including two original Wolseley Hornet Spare Parts Lists, another for a Hornet Special, an original Hornet Special Instruction Manual, a current V5C, various correspondence and research on other March bodied cars etc. There are also various spares including front and rear axles, three engine blocks, a radiator, etc.
To be auctioned along with a fantastic selection of other vehicles on March 5th at our Showell Farm site, SN15 2NU. Viewing is welcome prior to sale and all cars are sold as seen, condition reports can be requested on each lot by contacting us direct. Lots are not available to buy prior to auction. Fully illustrated catalogue is available on the Richard Edmonds Auction website. Bids can be made online, by telephone or live on site. All lots are subject to commission.
Vehicles that are un-registered or on foreign plates may require Import Duty and Vat to be paid upon purchase via HMRC prior to registering with the DVLA for a UK plate, if you are not sure please ask. For classic cars over 30 years this equates to 5% Duty on the final value.
