Descrição
This is lot number 504 in the Bonhams Beaulieu Sale on September 14th, please see the Bonhams website for full details.
Armstrong Siddeleys' first four-cylinder model
Offered from long-term dry storage
Started and driven recently
Requires recommissioning
Armstrong Siddeley was created in 1919 by the fusion of the mighty Armstrong Whitworth engineering combine and the Coventry based Siddeley-Deasy Motor Manufacturing Company. Managing director John Siddeley's son Ernest had toured various car factories in the USA in 1919, and the first Armstrong Siddeley - the 30hp - benefited from knowledge he acquired. Indeed, the fledgling firm even went so far as to acquire a Marmon Series 34 for evaluation. Although quite different from the Marmon engine in detail, the six-cylinder Armstrong Siddeley had a lengthy stroke and overhead valves like its American counterpart. The car's distinctive V-shaped radiator was the work of renowned motoring artist, Frederick Gordon Crosby, while its Sphinx mascot was a carry-over from Siddeley-Deasy, one of whose Knight sleeve valve-engined models had been described as 'silent as the Sphinx'. As one would expect of a company pre-eminent in the field of aero engine manufacture, Armstrong Siddeley built cars to the highest standards and soon gained a well-deserved reputation for quality, its advertisements proudly declaring: 'You cannot buy a better car'.
Introduced for 1923, the 14hp was the company's first four-cylinder car. Powered by a 1, 852cc overhead-valve engine, it would prove to be a considerable success, albeit not considered worthy of the marque's characteristic V-shaped radiator. 'PP 7959' has been laid up in a heated garage for several years. Bonhams was able to start the car recently and it drove without any obvious issues. Recommissioning will be required before any extended use. Offered with a V5 registration document and an old-style logbook.
