1939 Lanchester Eleven Sports Saloon

Registration no. EHP 130 Chassis no. 36369 Engine no. 92167

Odometer reading: tbc
MOT: Exempt


*One of only some 2,000 built
*Three owners from new
*Restored by Coventry University circa 1991

Post-WWI Lanchesters were in the main large, well-appointed, high-speed conveyances aimed at the luxury car market. The company's 1930 merger with Daimler (itself part of the BSA conglomerate) brought with it a change of policy, subsequent Lanchesters being smaller and cheaper cars. Introduced in 1932 and the smallest ever Lanchester, the Ten was unique in its class at the time, having both a Daimler fluid flywheel and Wilson pre-selector gearbox, a combination it shared with other Daimler and Lanchester models of the period. The engine was a 1.2-litre (later 1.4-litre) four-cylinder overhead-valve unit producing 34bhp at 4,000rpm, which in its larger form would power the successor, though broadly similar, Lanchester Eleven. The Ten/Eleven had an adequate performance with a top speed of just over 60mph. With their coachbuilt bodies and advanced specification, these small Lanchesters were considerably more expensive than many of their rivals; they sold in correspondingly small numbers, a mere 2,000-or-so Elevens being made before production ceased in 1939.
This rare survivor was purchased in 1991 by Coventry University to restore, the project being completed with help from the Museum of British Road Transport. On file is a copy document dated 1991 from the Museum discussing their plans for the car and the work/maintenance to be undertaken. The file also contains a few old MoTs; invoices for tyres; and a V5C Registration Certificate. A three-owners-from-new example, the Lanchester is in lovely condition and drives very well, the pre-selector gearbox working as it should. The car is finished in black with red leather interior, though the front seats are trimmed in vinyl.