1959 Armstrong Siddeley Star Sapphire

Lot details
Registration No: 278 MRA
Chassis No: 330529
Mot Expiry: June 2016

- 1 of just 902 made and current family ownership for 23 years

- MOT'd till June 2016 with numerous old certificates and tax discs on file

- Original Green leather upholstery, auto and extensive history file

This Armstrong Siddeley Star Sapphire is a charming and stately example of a rarely seen product of Britain's rich Motoring Heritage. A sporting car in its day, the Star Sapphire was significantly more expensive than its competitors from Jaguar and Humber and despite the performance advantage over its rivals, the high purchase price kept production limited to just 902 examples.

Survivors are now rare and few would have the interesting ownership history of the car offered for sale here. Keen observers will notice that the photographs shown were taken in New Palace Yard at The Houses of Parliament, a location not many cars can boast of accessing.

An expired V5 in the very large history file on this Star Sapphire shows that it was first registered in England in November 1959. The then owner is stated as a lady from Worksop in Nottinghamshire who had owned the car since at least 1977 (quite likely much earlier) when the DVLA transferred the registration of the car onto its computerised system. In 1982 an export certificate on file shows that the lady sold the car to a Finnish Gentleman who exported it to his homeland.

It appears that the Finnish owner returned the car to England in the early 1990's (the first expired MOT of many on file is dated April 1991) and in 1992 it was purchased by the Father of the vendor, the Member of Parliament for Bradford South. According to a newspaper cutting on file from 1993 about the owner, he became a devotee of the Armstrong Siddeley marque in 1953 when he purchased a 1934 model for £15. Despite being his car he registered it in his Wife's name who was also an MP. Upon his passing she took over the ownership of the car for a short time until their son (the vendor) took on the car and registered it in his name in March 1998.

The vendor is also an MP, which explains why the car was photographed in New Palace Yard and why it has resided one of the world's most secure garages for the last few years, below the Houses of Parliament!

The voluminous history folder, as well as containing multiple expired MOT certificates, also contains many invoices for maintenance and restoration works, totalling over £12,000 during the family's ownership.

A large sporting 1950's saloon car with automatic transmission and power assisted steering is a rare combination, but given the fact that this car has been owned by three members of the same family for the last twenty three years, all of whom were Members of Parliament, must surely make this a rather attractive purchase given the price estimate.