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    Vauxhall’s decade-a-day series : Vauxhall 30-98 (Part 3)

    In Part 3 of Vauxhall’s Decade-a-Day series, we turn our attention to Britain’s very first catalogued 100mph car, the truly iconic Vauxhall 30-98.

    Built in series from 1919 to 1927, the 30-98 was, in its day, the fastest catalogued production car in Great Britain, with a factory-warranted top speed of 100mph when fitted with a high axle ratio and pared-down coachwork.

    The majority of 30-98s were sold with a tourer body (the Vauxhall-owned example in today’s images sports one made by in-house coachbuilder, Velox), but the most dramatic-looking was made by Wensum – another of Vauxhall’s in-house creations – with no doors, no hood, flared wings and carrying a £150 premium; a sizeable increase when a standard Tourer cost around £1200.

    During its production life, around 600 E- and OE-Type (for ‘Overhead-valve) 30-98s were built, and it says much for its legacy that today around 170 still survive, many of which remain in regular use on road and track.

    The OE-Type 30-98 model had exceptional performance in its day, producing around 112bhp from its four-cylinder, 4224cc engine. But a centre throttle, extremely heavy flywheel and weak brakes by today’s standards make this a challenging – if very fast – car to drive on modern roads.

    Nevertheless, Vauxhall’s ‘OE268’ – built in the penultimate year of production – has accrued some 25,000 miles as a press and events car in the last 12 years alone.

    Technical Data:

    Colour: Primrose Yellow

    Interior colour: Blue

    Engine Capacity: 4224cc

    Top Speed: 85mph (100mph in performance guise)

    0-60mph: 29.8 seconds

    Fuel Consumption: 14-18mpg

    Previous instalments of Decade-a-Day can be found here:

    Suivez-nous :

    Faris Bouchaala
    Faris Bouchaala
    Journaliste Automobile - Rédacteur en Chef Adjoint
    Grand passionné d’automobile depuis mon enfance, mon objectif au quotidien était de trouver le moyen d'arracher le volant à mon père. Très peu de gens ont la possibilité de transformer leur passion en une carrière, et il se trouve que je suis l'un de ces quelques privilégiés. J’ai rejoint la presse spécialisée en 2010, après un parcours totalement loin du domaine, car au final c’est la passion qui l’emporte.

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