When the first motor cars arrived on British roads, the Vauxhall Iron Works on the south bank of the Thames was only interested in marine engineering. Its first cars were inspired by the German Benz machines though there was some evidence of American influence too, and were designed as a co-operative effort between F.W. Hodges and the official receiver of the company. Even so, they had little chance to develop the cars, or the car-making business in London, for within a year the company had run out of space. Accordingly, it up-rooted itself, to a new greenfield site at Luton, in Bedfordshire, where it remains to this day.
Although the original Vauxhall was rated at, and named, a 5 hp machine, it was the 6 hp model of 1904 which was the first to go on sale. By the standards, and sales levels, of the day, it was an immediate success and 776 vehicles were sold in the year. At a time when most car designers looked back to the standard of horse-drawn carts, one advanced feature was the use of coil springs for front and rear suspension beams.
The low-revving single cylinder engine measured 1,029 cc (as large as a small four-cylinder family car of the late 1990s), but only produced 6 horsepower, and needed a two-speed gearbox to provide a top cruising speed of 15 mph. Contemporary pictures of those early cars show a compact four-seater layout – the wheelbase was only 6 ft 9 in, (2,057 mm) the overall length not more than about 9 ft (2,743 mm). Only one year later, the company introduced a radically different model, the 7/9 hp, which not only had a three-cylinder engine, but it was mounted at the front of the car. |
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This became the company’s staple product for more than a year, and all types had distinctive, rakish, styling, complete with a vee-nose and a front-mounted radiator. Early types has a 1.3-litre engine and 7 hp, but were underpowered, so a larger, 9 bph, 1,436 cc engine soon became a standard fitting.
Except for its engine, this model was conventional by early Edwardian standards, for it had a three-speed sliding-type gearbox behind the engine, chain drive to the rear axle, and there was a transmission brake behind the gearbox. Pneumatic tyres were usually standard, this handsome machine being available in a variety of body styles.For Vauxhall, though, this was only the beginning, as L.H. Pomeroy went on to design a series of fine Edwardian and Vintage cars, before General Motors took over the business in 1925.
The 7/9 hp was Vauxhall’s first multi-cylinder model, a much more conventional machine than the original type. The three-cylinder engine was mounted up front under the shapely bonnet. There was a choice of body styles. |
