Pioneering sports car could fetch £600,000

The 102-year-old open-top vehicle was developed by engineer Laurence Pomeroy

A rare “Prince Henry” Vauxhall Sports Torpedo, considered to be one of the world’s oldest sports cars, will be auctioned in December and is expected to receive bids of up to £600,000.

The 102-year-old open-top vehicle was developed by engineer Laurence Pomeroy. It was based on a 20hp C-Type model launched by Vauxhall in 1911, which adopted a V-shaped radiator and fluted bonnet used by a team in a Tour of Prussia instigated by Prince Henry.

The Prince Henry, as the C-Type became known, was later uplifted in capacity to the four-litre 25hp model that is being sold by auctioneer Bonhams at its Bond Street sale in London on 4 December.

T W Badgery, the first of only four owners of the car, said that his decision to buy it in 1914 was made when he discovered that the engine developed 86bhp at 3,300rpm and that, in chassis form, the vehicle had lapped the Brooklands circuit at more than 80mph.