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    Vauxhall’s decade-a-day series : Vauxhall C-10 ‘Prince Henry’ (Part 2)

    Part 2 of Vauxhall’s Decade-a-Day series, charting iconic vehicles from the company’s 117-year history, focuses on what is now widely acknowledged as ‘The World’s First Sports Car’.

    Originally built to compete in the 1910 Prince Henry Trophy, a German trial designed to discover the world’s best all-round touring car, the C-10 3-litre Vauxhall has since been acknowledged as Britain’s, if not the world’s, first true sports car.

    Laurence Pomeroy, Vauxhall’s Chief Engineer, entered three C-10s in the 1910 event, each with tuned versions of the company’s 3054cc side-valve engine. The cars were driven by Vauxhall’s MD, Percy Kidner, and co-directors, AJ Hancock and Rudolf Selz, all of whom finished the 1230-mile event, but alas without collecting any awards. However, due to the cars’ speed and durability, a legend had been created and later the same year a road version, known as the ‘Prince Henry Type’ was shown to the press.

    The Autocar noted that the new car was, ‘…a particularly fast, light car for road work’, with Vauxhall guaranteeing that the Prince Henry could achieve ‘more than 90mph’ when fitted with a single seat body.

    The 1910 car photographed has been owned by Vauxhall Motors since 1946 and is thought to be a pre-production example, one of only nine surviving cars in the world. It is fitted with the earlier 3-litre, 20hp engine (later cars had 4-litre, 25hp units), a lightweight chassis and low front axle. EI 641 was originally registered in Sligo, Ireland.

    Technical Data:

    Colour: Red/silver

    Interior colour: Cream

    Engine Capacity: 3054cc

    Top Speed: 65mph (90mph in competition trim)

    0-60mph: n/a

    Fuel Consumption: 25mpg

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

    1903 5hp – https://motorsactu.com/vauxhalls-decade-a-day-series-vauxhall-5hp-light-car-part-1/

    Vauxhall launches online tyre service for all makes and models

    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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