1924 Vauxhall Type OD 23/60hp Chauffeur Drive Landaulette

• One of approximately 100 survivors
• Formerly part of the Sword Collection
• Capacious coachwork
• Highly original
• Engine rebuilt circa 2016

Prior to 1925, when Vauxhall was taken over by General Motors, the firm was renowned for producing handsome, finely engineered cars that put it on a par with Bentley or Sunbeam. Introduced in 1922, the 23/60hp was a development of the 4.0-litre, four-cylinder, sidevalve-engined D-Type Vauxhall of 1913, which had been designed by the firm's famous Chief Engineer, Laurence Pomeroy. Production of the original D-Type was maintained during WWI when the model was widely used as an army staff car. Manufacture continued after the cessation of hostilities, though Pomeroy departed and his place was taken by Charles Evelyn King, who designed a new overhead-valve detachable cylinder head for both the D-Type and its legendary sporting stablemate, the 30/98. Updated with King's OHV 'head in mid-1922, the model was known thereafter as the '23/60' or 'OD' and was built until 1926. The OD 23/60hp Vauxhall was a popular overseas model and many were dispatched to British Empire markets. Approximately 1,300 were made, of which some 100 survive.
This Vauxhall 23/60 was delivered new to a Ms Alice Twining in 1924 and first registered as 'OR 3333'. Later on the car made its way to the famous Sword Collection and was sold at its first disposal sale in 1962 (Lot 21). Auctioned again in 1966, the Vauxhall made its way to Switzerland. Upon the Swiss owner's death in 2015, the car moved across the border into Austria, where an engine rebuild was undertaken. Although the rebuild was stated to have cost €65,000, no bills are available. The car remained on static display until 2019 when it was repatriated to the UK and registered as 'UH 488'.
Since then the Bosch ZU4 magneto has been rewound; four of the original five wheels rebuilt and shod with new Blockley tyres (new Excelsior tyre to spare); and new clutch/gearbox couplings installed (correct flexible Hardy Spicer type, same as 30/98). Related bills are on file and the car also comes with a copy of its original Portsmouth registration card; a Vauxhall Heritage dating certificate; a V5C document; and catalogues from the aforementioned auctions. A correct Watford FO4 magneto, Autovac, spare exhaust manifold, and a set of five artillery wheels/tyres are available if required.
The vendor has used the Vauxhall to attend various events including monthly VSCC meetings at Meldreth, Cambridgeshire; VSCC AutoSolo at Silverstone; and VSCC 'New Year Driving Tests' at Brooklands and Prescott in 2020 (as a spectator).
Writing in Motor Sport magazine's December 1949 edition, Vauxhall 23/60 owner Captain Donald Gill concluded his article thus: "For someone who yearns after a real Vauxhall, but for one reason or another is denied a 30/98, the 23/60 commends itself as a not at all unworthy substitute for non-competitive motoring, and the preservation of a few more examples of the type would be a definite gain to the vintage world," sentiments with which Bonhams can only concur.