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Vauxhall 25 HP 'Prince Henry' Sports Torpedo - the world's first sports car?

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Created on November 22, 2016

Reading time 7min

Written by:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Bonhams

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Courtesy Bonhams

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Vauxhall / General Motors

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Archiv

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Bonhams

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Courtesy Bonhams

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Vauxhall / General Motors

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Archiv

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Vauxhall 25 HP "Prince Henry" (1914) - die Frontscheibe ist umklappbar

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Vauxhall 25 HP "Prince Henry" (1914) - schneller Tourer auch für lange Reisen

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Vauxhall 25 HP "Prince Henry" (1914) - über ein Dach verfügte der "Sportwagen" nicht

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Vauxhall 25 HP "Prince Henry" (1914) - schmal und hochbeinig

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Vauxhall 25 HP "Prince Henry" (1914) - mit Aufbau der Firma Hoskison Ltd in Aston Cross

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Vauxhall 25 HP "Prince Henry" (1914) - Torpedo-Heck

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Vauxhall 25 HP "Prince Henry" (1914) - Blick ins Interieur

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Vauxhall 25 HP "Prince Henry" (1914) - rechts gelenkt und rechts geschaltet, so war das in der Zeit

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Vauxhall 25 HP "Prince Henry" (1914) - Reihenvierzylinder traditioneller Bauweise

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Vauxhall 25 HP "Prince Henry" (1914) - ein seitlicher Vergaser musste genügen

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Vauxhall 25 HP "Prince Henry" (1914) - der Karosseriebauer "signierte" sein Werk

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Vauxhall 25 HP "Prince Henry" (1914) - mit Initialen

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Vauxhall 25 HP "Prince Henry" (1914) - unterwegs in Frankfreich

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Vauxhall 25 HP "Prince Henry" (1914) - unterwegs mit Chauffeur

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Vauxhall 25 HP "Prince Henry" (1914) - unterwegs in Kopenhagen

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Vauxhall 6HP Single-Cylinder (1904) - anlässlich der Feier "50 Jahre Vauxhall" im Jahr 1953

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Vauxhall 6HP Single-Cylinder (1904) - gezeigt auf dem Pariser Autosalon im Jahr 1963

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Vauxhall C-Type Prince Henry (1911) - mit dem prägnanten v-förmigen Kühler

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Vauxhall C-Type Prince Henry (1911) - offen und mit tiefer Gürtellinie

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Summary

With the Vauxhall C-Type, also known as the 20HP "Prince Henry", the British car manufacturer created a fast touring car that also excelled in motorsport events. It is one of the earliest sports cars ever built. A very special example was built in 1914 with the more powerful 25 HP engine and individual torpedo body by Hoskison Ltd in Aston Cross. This report portrays the sprightly pre-war classic and tells its interesting story.

This article contains the following chapters

One of the oldest surviving car manufacturers in the world
The Prince Henry version
The series version
At the wheel of a "Prince Henry"
A very special specimen
Epilogue

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

For the British, the case is clear: the Vauxhall 20HP models, which were built from 1910 onwards, were the very first sports cars. It remains to be seen whether they examined the work of carmakers in continental Europe closely enough. In any case, this Vauxhall C-Type was a very successful car against which the competition had a hard time. With almost 700 years of history behind the trademark with the Geifvogel, the car manufacturer Vauxhall Motors was founded in 1903, after a predecessor company had already been building combustion engines since 1857. The Luton-based company's first car, the 5 HP, appeared in 1903. From then on, the vehicles became bigger and more powerful. Laurence Pomeroy was the technical conscience behind the designs from 1905 onwards.

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