Vauxhall Motors


Historic


Vauxhall is the UK’s oldest surviving car manu- facturer and arrived at its current base in Luton in 1905, two years after it started making cars at its original factory in Vauxhall, South London. T e Vauxhall Ironworks, as it was fi rst known,


was actually formed in 1857 by engineer Alexander Wilson, who initially produced marine engines for pleasure craft on the T ames. T e move to Luton was prompted by the com-


pany’s need to expand. It chose a seven-acre site in Kimpton Road, and on March 29, 1905 the fi rst Luton-built car – a 7/9HP vehicle - rolled off the line. T is was followed soon afterwards by the 9HP model, the fi rst Vauxhall to feature bonnet fl utes, which became synonymous with the brand. Following its success in the 1910 1000-mile


Prinz Heinrich Trial in Prussia, Vauxhall started producing the C10 model, better known as the Prince Henry. T is is now acknowledged as being the UK’s – and perhaps the world’s – fi rst sports car. It was hugely advanced for its time, and could achieve a genuine 65mph. Vauxhall produced military vehicles during the


First World War, and between 1912 and 1918 had delivered nearly 2,000 D-Type Staff Cars to support Britain’s war eff ort. T e Heritage Centre still owns one of only two surviving cars from this era. Post-war, Vauxhall stepped up its motorsport


activities, and became a force to be reckoned with at venues like Brooklands and Shelsley Walsh, where models like the 30-98 – the UK’s fi rst catalogued 100mph car – repeatedly set new speed and time records, piloted by an ever-growing number of en- thusiastic gentleman drivers. In 1925, General Motors purchased Vauxhall outright for $2.5m, the US giant’s first overseas acquisition. GM saw Vauxhall’s future in the main- stream, and soon after it took over, the Kimpton Road factory expanded to take on bus and truck production. Known as Bedfords, the commercial vehicles were based on Chevrolet designs, and demand for them grew rapidly. In the T irties, Vauxhall passenger cars were


aimed far more at the mainstream buyer than ever before. But the company still continued to innovate,


36 ALL THINGS BUSINESS


manufacturer is still a major player


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