Description
H&H Classic Auction @ The Imperial War Museum, Duxford/ Cambridgeshire
9th October, 2024 13:00
1931 Wolseley Hornet Sportsman Coupe
In the ownership of two families from new
Estimate
£15, 000 - £20, 000
Registration No: OV 2980
Chassis No: 4769CF3
MOT: Exempt
Exceptionally rare Hornet Sportsman Coupe originally commissioned by Eustace Watkins
Coachwork by Salmons and Sons in Newport Pagnell
In the ownership of just two families from new with current ownership since 1984
Supplied with a comprehensive restoration between 1984 and 1987
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 ‘Occasional-Four Coupe‘ is understood to have been originally commissioned for Eustace Watkins, a London dealer of Wolseleys located at Croydon from 1906 and at one time was the largest distributor of Wolseley cars in the world. Eustace Watkins offered custom coachwork, most notably the Wolseley Hornet Specials some of which were coachbuilt for Eustace Watkins.
More information following shortly.
