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vendredi, avril 4, 2025
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    VAUXHALL PA VELOX/CRESTA

    The 2.25-litre, six-cylinder PA Velox and Cresta arrived in 1957 and were built, with minor styling changes, until 1962. Illustrating the company’s huge growth in export sales at the time, a PA model became the two-millionth Vauxhall to roll off the Luton line.

    A large car by post-war British standards, but diminutive compared with GM’s Stateside behemoths on which its design was based, the PA Velox/Cresta was the perfect antidote to the UK’s largely grey and austere ‘50s motoring landscape.

    Vauxhall’s famous ‘flutes’ made a final appearance (though they were only represented in concave chrome side-strips), but in every other respect the PA embodied a brave new world for Vauxhall. Tail fins, swathes of chrome, a bright body-colour palette and wrap-around front screen gave it the scaled-down look of a ’57 Chevy Bel Air, while inside, bench seats and a column gear-shift completed the US feel.

    Almost all PAs were saloons, but Friary produced a stylish estate version, one of which (pictured) was used by HM The Queen, fitted with a gun rack and vinyl floor covers for her corgis.

    Technical Data:

    Body: 6-seat saloon
    Engine: 6 cylinders in-line
    Engine Capacity: 2,262cc,
    Top Speed: 90mph
    0-60mph: 16.8 seconds
    Fuel Consumption: 23mpg
    Transmission: RWD, 3-speed all-synchromesh gearbox (auto optional)

    BEDFORD CA VAN

    The van to own in the fifties and early sixties was the Bedford CA.  It was arguably the UK’s first purpose-built light commercial vehicle and was introduced in 1952 as both a panel van and chassis cowl. 

    It proved popular for delivery drivers and roundsmen, who loved its sliding doors, and the cab-only version provided bodybuilders with many opportunities for specialist coachwork such as dropsides, milk floats and mobile shops. The Dormobile was the first of many conversions carried out to the CA, complete with an elevating roof to liberate extra space inside, bringing the joys of motor-caravaning to the masses.

    Over a quarter of a million CAs were produced between 1952 and 1969, when it was replaced by the larger Bedford CF.

    Technical Data:

    Body: Panel van/chassis cab/bespoke variants
    Engine: In-line, four cylinder
    Engine Capacity: 1595cc
    Top Speed: n/a
    0-60mph: n/a
    Fuel Consumption: n/a

    Suivez-nous :

    Mustapha Zemri
    Mustapha Zemri
    Journaliste Essayeur Auto & Moto
    Passionné par tout ce qui fait du bruit, je me suis spécialisé dans la presse automobile depuis 2012 ou j’animais une page auto moto dans un magazine, puis j’ai lancé une émission télé qui a été diffusée sur plusieurs chaines privées. Aujourd’hui, j’ai le plaisir d’animer les différentes rubriques de Motorsactu.com, ce média spécialisé dans l’actualité auto, moto et sport mécanique.

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