Description
This car is Lot 159 to be auctioned by Bonhams|Cars at the Goodwood Members' Meeting Sale on the 13th April, please see the Bonhams website for full details.
Public Viewing:
Available Saturday 12th April from 09:00 until 17:00 and Sunday 13 April from 09:00, at Goodwood Members' Meeting.
Lot 159
1922 Ballot 2LS Three-seater Skiff Tourer
Registration no. not UK registered
Chassis no. 43
Delivered new to Australia
Considerable in-period competition history in Australia
Known ownership history from new
Replica coachwork
Restored in the 2000s and 2010s
Exhibited at the Hampton Court Concours in 2024
A former marine engineer, Ernest Ballot founded his company in Paris in 1910 to manufacture engines for automobiles and also for stationary use, numbering Delage, La Licorne and Mass among his customers. By 1919 Ballot was producing complete chassis incorporating exotic, twin-cam, multi-valve engines designed for racing by the famous Swiss engineer Ernest Henry, whose DOHC Peugeots had dominated pre-war Grands Prix. As well as the French, Italian and Spanish Grands Prix, Ballot entered the Targa Florio and Indianapolis 500, winning on many occasions. Ballot's 2-litre car astonished the world by finishing 3rd in the French GP.
However, Ballot's racers were necessarily expensive and had a limited market, so from 1921 a 2LS road car was offered, based on the 2. 0-litre four-cylinder racer, which boasted twin overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder and a top speed of over 90mph, a phenomenal performance for a 2-litre car in those days. At the time of its introduction in 1922 the Ballot 2LS was the fastest, most glamorous and most expensive sports car in the world, and the first to go into production with a DOHC engine. Fewer than 50 cars were built and only five survive (or six, if you count a partial example).
From the 2LS, Ballot developed the 2LT and 2LTS single-cam models. Abandoning an abortive six-cylinder model, Ballot moved swiftly on to produce eight-cylinder cars but these were not so well received and in 1930 the company was taken over by Hispano-Suiza.
One of three Ballot 2LS cars shipped to Australia, this example was purchased new from the Ballot stand at the 1923 Paris motor show by the two Pye brothers, farmers from New South Wales, and when acquired was carrying a three-seater skiff body by French coachbuilder, Kelsch. It appears the Pyes did not use the car competitively.
'43' was next owned, from late 1926, by one Daniel Vincent Clifton, proprietor of a string of General Motors dealerships in NSW. The Ballot's first race was in 1926 when it was driven by Dick Clark at the Maroubra Speedway. Clark continued to campaign the Ballot though 1927 in races and long-distance reliability trials with considerable success.
However, by 1930 the eight-year-old Ballot was beginning to feel the strain of competing in these arduous events and threw a connecting rod. Clifton then sold the car to one of his employees, Ron MacKellar, another experienced racer. MacKellar repaired the Ballot and commissioned a new, lower body from Callow & Sadler, a Sydney-based coachbuilder. The rebuild was finished by the end of 1932. The car's first event post-restoration was the NSW Light Car Club's carnival at Maroubra in October 1932. At the next LCC event, a 100-mile relay and five-mile handicap, MacKellar and the Ballot set the fastest lap of the day at 80. 3mph. At the end of 1933 the Ballot took the Kinsella Trophy, awarded for the best results of the year. At the end of 1934, '43' was photographed for The Motor in Australia magazine, with its silver trophies lined up on the running board.
By this time the ten-year-old Ballot was being challenged by more modern designs and its competitiveness was on the wain. MacKellar decided to retire the car and sold it to John Robinson of Clifton, Victoria. Having passed through the hands of five further owners (two of them dealers, details on file) the Ballot was with A G Fox of Melbourne by 1937. The Ballot was used by Fox throughout WW2 and then taken off the road in 1947, remaining dormant for the next 30 years.
In March 1977 Dr W E Southgate purchased the Ballot from Fox's widow and carried out a second comprehensive restoration. Dr Southgate went on to campaign the car in Historic events as well as competing in VSCC of Victoria rallies. During one of the latter an exhaust valve burnt out, necessitating another engine rebuild. Dr Southgate continued to compete in Historic races and local rallies after he moved to Adelaide, South Australia.
Having owned and enthusiastically campaigned '43' for some 30 years, Dr Southgate decided the time was ripe for the Ballot to pass to a new custodian and circa December 2006 sold the car to the present owner, a well known motoring journalist and former publisher of The Automobile magazine, who already owned another of the five surviving 2LS models.
The new owner commissioned a full mechanical and body rebuild, which was completed a few years ago. The Callow & Sadler body was removed and preserved, and a new one commissioned in the style of the original, using rescued Kelsch components that he already had 'in stock'. Construction of the replica body was entrusted to Aldo Bilotta. The use of scans, period photographs and Computer Aided Design (CAD) ensured that the new body was as accurate a copy as possible. Restoration of the chassis and the re-bodying by Aldo Bilotta and Vintage Body Shop was carried out during 2011-2012. Traces of the Ballot's original deep, bluish green paintwork were found during the renovation.
The massive history (four boxes of it) details engine work carried out by Louis Santin in March 2007 and further mechanical refurbishment by him in September of that year. In Sept 2015 works were carried out on the gearbox and engine, including replacement of bearing fasteners and fitting an up-rated intake camshaft.
In October 2015 the Ballot completed its maiden tour of East Victoria and later that same month was exhibited at Motorclassica. A new radiator was fitted in October 2016 by Louis Santin, who also carried out a service, tuning and shake-down in November that year. Later that same month '43' participated in the 2nd International Ballot Rally, Great Ocean Road, Victoria. Between December 2016 and May 2017, the camshaft vertical drive was rebuilt, magneto and water pump reconditioned, clutch slip rectified, the engine tuned, and cam timing altered, all these works being undertaken by Louis Santin, who also carried out a post-works test drive and shake-down in June 2017. More recently, in 2024, the Ballot was exhibited at the Hampton Court Concours. '43' also features prominently in Ballot by Daniel Cabart and Gautam Sen (Dalton Watson, 2019).
The car is offered with numerous invoices for the aforementioned works; Automobile magazines; exhibition photographs on CD (Motorclassica 2015, Australia); restoration and running-in photographs; Australian tour photographs (2015); L'Automobile Historique magazine (April 2001); rally photographs on CD; correspondence from Louis Santin; copies of period photographs; miscellaneous correspondence (1999-2001); copies of factory catalogue photographs; history of the car by David Manson; CAMS Certificate of Description (1998); CAMS vehicle logbooks; and numerous archival references, magazines and correspondence.
Please note that this vehicle is from outside the UK. Our customs agents, CARS UK, will manage all post sale customs administration. A fee of £350+VAT will be charged on the buyer's invoice to administer both import or export customs movements. If the buyer also chooses to ship with CARS UK, this will be quoted separately. If this vehicle is to remain in the UK, it will be subject to Import VAT at the reduced rate of 5% on the hammer price. This vehicle will not be available for immediate collection after the sale and will only be released on completion of customs clearance formalities. If you have any questions regarding customs clearance, please contact the Bonhams Motorcar Department.
All lots are sold 'as is/ where is' and Bidders must satisfy themselves as to the provenance, condition, age, completeness and originality prior to bidding. Visit the Bonhams|Cars website for all pertinent auction information.
