Property of a deceased's estate, 1951 Vincent 998cc Series-C Black Shadow

• Matching numbers
• Present ownership since 1996
• Its late owner's pride and joy
• Requires recommissioning

Ever since the Series A's arrival in 1937, the Vincent v-twin has been synonymous with design innovation, engineering excellence, and superlative high performance. From Rollie Free's capture of the 'world's fastest production motorcycle' record in 1948 on a tuned Series-B Black Shadow to the final fully enclosed Black Knight and Black Prince, Philip Vincent's stress on appearance and performance is legendary. His machines bristled with innovative features, offering adjustment of brake pedal, footrests, seat height and gear-change lever. The finish was to a very high standard commensurate with the cost of the machine, which was virtually double that of any of its contemporaries.

But above all else it was the v-twin's stupendous performance that captivated motorcyclists, whether they could afford one or not. The appeal of the Vincent, and the Black Shadow in particular, lay in its ability to out-perform just about every other vehicle on the road, and in the early post-war years there was nothing to compare with it. Not until the advent of Jaguar's XK120 was there a production sports car that could live with the thundering v-twins from Stevenage. With a top speed approaching 120mph, and bettering it in the Black Shadow's case, the Vincent v-twin was quite simply the fastest road vehicle of its day. The Black Shadow was indeed a legend in its own lifetime, and in the 60-plus years since production ceased, the esteem in which this iconic motorcycle is held has only increased, fuelling the demand among discerning collectors for fine examples of the marque, such as that offered here.

VOC records show that 'F10AB/1B/7855' and 'RC9755B/C' is a Series-C Black Shadow manufactured in November 1951 and delivered to Conway Motors in London. Purchased by the late owner in 1996, the Shadow was his pride and joy; not used recently, the machine should only require some light recommissioning before returning to the road. Accompanying documentation consists of two old MoTs (most recent expired 2013); an old-style continuation logbook (1959); and a current V5C.
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