Lot details
Registration No: JH 1446
Chassis No: 237/51
Mot Expiry: Exempt

The vogue for creating small cars of big performance pre-dates today's hot hatches by many decades, of which the Wolseley Hornets of 1930 to 1935 are ample proof. The trick was to insert six-cylinder OHC engines of 1271cc into unsuspecting modified Morris Minor chassis and then provide them with relatively lightweight bodies and wheels to create cars with considerably more get-up-and-go. The Hornet specials, of which 2307 were made between 1932 and 1934, were even more nimble, courtesy of higher compression engines fed by twin carburettors. This simply stunning-looking Special is thought by the Wolseley Hornet Special Club to be the only remaining example equipped with Eustace Watkins London Sports Coupe body. This is finished in Black and complemented by a Blue fabric-covered roof (complete with triple glass panels), a wonderfully-patinated Blue leather interior and blue-painted wire wheels. 'JH 1446' comes complete with history from the date of order to now. Stunning!

PLEASE NOTE: Since the catalogue went to press we have been contacted by the Registrar of the Wolseley Hornet Special Club to say that this lot was road registered three months before the introduction of the Hornet Special. As such it is a Hornet Sports rather than a Hornet Special. The Registrar also tells us that the car was supplied by Eustace Watkins of Chelsea as a Martin Walter Sportsmans Coupe and not as a London Sports Coupe. Finally the Club understand that the vehicle was fitted with a replacement engine from a 1933 Hornet Saloon during the 1980s.