Railton Claremont

History

Railton Claremont F29 LJR Talented British designer Reid Railton built his own marque of sports cars in the 1930?s by modifying an American Straight-8 Hudson fitted with sporting British coachwork. He also designed a series of cars for John Cobb, the first of which was the celebrated 24-litre Napier Railton, which took many endurance records, and later the Railton Mobil Special which held the World Land Speed Record several times, finally hitting 400 m.p.h. and collecting the record at 394.2 mph. Railton?s involvement in the british racing and world record breaking was huge. He was also involved with Malcolm Campbell?s Bluebird car in the early thirties, and later in his water speed records boats. In 1933 he was responsible for the design of the fantastically successful E.R.A voiturette class racing cards with Raymond Mays, and in the same year he started production of the cars, which bear his name, in collaboration with Noel Macklin of Invicta fame. The Railton Terraplane Eight was based on the 4.2 litre Hudson, and evolved through a series of models, all with classic sporting bodywork, including the Fairmile and Claremont convertibles. 1460 Hudson based Railtons had been completed when production ended with the onset of World War II, and Reid Railton finally died in 1977 at the age of 82. The reincarnation of the Railton was the brainchild of Williams Towns, an automobile designer and engineer born in 1936, who worked first with the Rootes Group then Rover before joining Aston Martin in 1966. Before becoming a freelance designer, Towns was responsible for the fabulous Aston Martin DBS V8 and the Lagonda equivalent, and later the Volante convertible and the amazing Wedge Lagonda of 1976, among other design icons. In 1991, after a trial exhibition at the 1989 Motorfair, the new Railton was unveiled with the launch of the Railton Motor Company in collaboration with businessman John Ranson. The new car, a stunning lookin, sleek and very smoothly bodied convertible, was based on the running gear of the V12 engined XJS Jaguar, which Towns considered mechanically refined. He saw the Railton as an alternative to a Bristol or Aston Martin, but claimed that if ?you see it as nothing more than a rebodied Jaguar X-S convertible, you will be selling it short?. The streamlined, almost featureless bodywork, was created by Park Sheet Metal, who also constructed the Jaguar XJ220, and the minimalist lines are quite unlike any other car. They show that Towns had moved on from his obsession with the straight lines exemplified by the 1976 Lagonda. The lines of the car flow from the rounded nose, down the long bonnet and smooth sides to the short curved tail without jolt, totally lacking superfluous embellishment and giving no clue as to the identity of the chassis beneath. The car has an extra Bosch lighting system and the specially made alloy wheels are an echo of those fitted to Railton?s Land Speed Record Cars. Two cars were produced, this one with rear wheel splats, called Claremont, and finished in metallic blue, and another, the Fairmile in burgundy, without the wheel splats and with oversized rear wheels but otherwise identical. The cars were priced at ?105,000 each in 1991, and only two were ever produced; the Claremont remaining in the possession of William Towns until after his death it passes to the vendor. The interior of the Claremont is trimmed throughout in finest cream leather with polished walnut cappings and has the standard late-type instrument binnacle. Luxury equipment includes: A.B.S. cruise control, central locking, power steering, automatic gearbox, heated electrically adjusted seats, electric windows, air conditioning and a power operated hood! The engine is the magnificent 5.3 litre Jaguar V-12 unit giving 280 horsepower allowing a top speed of some 143 mph and an 0-60 time of 8.1 seconds. All this with a surge of smooth silky power in the luxurious surroundings of the cream leather clad cockpit! This is a unique opportunity to acquire a car of enormous style and presence which creates interest wherever it goes, is totally original and unspoiled from its original Motor show condition, and which represents also a jaguar which with an aluminium body cannot rust and is unlikely to depreciate, but also has all the Jaguar attributes of a magnificent engine and superb road-holding and performance. The Railton is extremely well cared for and regularly maintained and is offered with a current M.O.T. certificate and a comprehensive file of Road Test reports, magazine articles and sales brochures. Estimate ?30,000 - ?35,000.