Many of you will be aware of the Techno-Classica being held in Essen this week and COYS are holding their next auction on Saturday 18 April at this event. Before we discuss the cars on offer, have a quick look at this 1922 Anzani motorcycle just because it has survived over 90 years without ever being restored and is described as excellent condition. It won’t take up much room and it’s your chance to own a machine with an engine from this most famous of engine makers – even if it is only 175 c.c. The Riley Imp in Lot 158 was made in 1935 and is described as well known in Riley Circles. Its attractive lines and sporting performance have helped this model become very sought-after as is reflected in its estimate. The older ‘Brooklands’ Riley showed what could be done with a Riley engine and pre-selector gearbox and the Imp became a popular car amongst private and works race teams. A similar close-coupled 2 seater sports car is the 1938 BMW 328 Roadster but carrying three times the estimate. The 328 featured a new crossflow cylinder head with state of the art hemispherical combustion chambers and an ingenious arrangement of horizontal pushrods operating the exhaust valves which gave twin cam performance with less complexity and lower cost. So highly regarded was this engine that the design was obtained by Bristol Cars after the war and with little modification it went on to power cars built by Bristol and AC amongst others with great success into the 1960s.
Let us divert from 4-stroke to 2-stroke in a car famous for its pioneering tranverse engine mounting and front-wheel drive. The 1936 DKW Meisterklasse Luxe Cabriolet has a 2 cylinder engine of just 700 cc and an innovative generator/starter unit connected directly to the crankshaft. This sporty little European tourer came from a private collection of over 100 cars and is in excellent condition with a much lower estimate than the cars above! The name Isotta Fraschini is enough to inspire passion in most hearts and what better than a 1929 Isotta-Fraschini 8A Faux-Cabriolet with coachwork by Cesare Sala and a motor car built by Sala coachwork was always built to the highest standard. This included 13 coats of paint (each interspersed with the sanding pumiced), an engine running in time of 30 days. The build was overseen by four specialists who legend has it worked naked, on a floor lapped by spring water in order in insure of no dust and imperfections in the build of these cars. !!
Let us survey the 1927 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Pall Mall Tourer finished in black with contrasting ivory coach-line pin striping, along with a tan Hartz cloth top, the Rolls-Royce appears as important and regal as it must have when new in 1927. A direct descendant of the Silver Ghost, this model was constructed on the sporting shorter chassis and the old cone clutch was replaced with a single dry plate clutch - more conducive to quieter and smoother operation.The description assures us that the black leather upholstery is…” in good condition overall with no signs of extreme wear.” We call it patina and we like it. The first product of the 1931 Rolls-Royce take-over of Bentley, the 3 ½ Litre was introduced in 1933 and was in essence designed to be a much sporting version of the successful Rolls-Royce 20/25. Here we have a 1934 Bentley 3.5 Litre Oxborrow & Fuller Design by Vanden Plas which was the first to be marketed as 'The Silent Sports Car', such was its considerable almost Rolls-standard refinement. The 3 ½ Litre soon gained a reputation for pace and fine handling combined with the elegance of handbuilt coachwork. This unique vehicle which has been owned, Father and son, since 1949, and has undergone an extensive (and expensive) rebuild and is now ready to give the next owner a life time of happy Bentley motoring.
(Text by Robin Batchelor, pictures courtesy COYS)