Austin 16/6 Hertford Saloon

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Launched in 1927, the 16/6 was Austin’s medium sized saloon fitting into the range above the Seven and Twelve models but below the 3.6-litre Twenty.

The 16hp 2.2-litre six-cylinder engine was new but had similarities to the engine fitted to the Twenty with its timing chain at the rear of the block. An up-to-date design, it had a 4-speed manual gearbox mounted in-unit with the engine, drive being taken by an open prop shaft with a Hardy type joint at the front and a metal universal joint at the rear to the three-quarter floating back axle with semi-elliptic springs all round for the suspension.

From 1934 the gearbox gained synchromesh on 3rd and 4th gears and from 1935 on 2nd gear too, this model being distinguished by a painted, rather than chromed, radiator surround and the addition of an opening boot at the rear which contained the spare wheel. For 1937, the last year of production, pressed steel road wheels replaced the previously fitted wire wheels.

A range of body styles were available including the Burnham, Windsor, Westminster, Berkeley and Hertford 5-seat saloons, the Carlton, Iver, York and Chalfont 7-seat saloons, and the Clifton, Harrow and Open Road tourers. ‘Autocar’ particularly liked the six-cylinder engine reporting that it ran “very nicely indeed, smoothly, quietly and with a real willingness to get going if the driver chooses,” recording a top speed of 60mph and 21mpg economy.

First registered in Kent in March 1937, this Hertford saloon was bought new by a Mr Clark who kept if for 15 years before passing it on to his secretary, Miss Hornsby, in 1952. She was to keep it for another 38 years before it was acquired by a David Lansfield of Folkestone in 1990. He sympathetically restored the car with much correspondence and photos on file to document the process, keeping it for 13 years before selling it to Peter Moon of Bexhill in 2004 who was to keep it until 2014 when the vendor acquired it.

It has spent the last couple of years in Donegal where it has been in regular use with its titled owner, taking part in various shows and rallies and being no stranger to the local high street, the cavernous interior providing plenty of stowage space for the week’s groceries. In good running order and said to pull very well with rarely any need to drop down from top gear once on the move, it has been fitted with an 18hp head at some time which no doubt accounts for its lusty performance. We are told that it comes with a very large history file which was not available for inspection at the time of cataloguing, although it should be with the vehicle in time for the sale.

Austin may not be the most exciting name in British motoring history but it is certainly one of the most enduring and these sturdy, handsome machines still attract a devoted following among those who like their beer warm, their cricket slow and their Yorkshire puds full of gravy.

AMENDMENT: The vast history file for this car has now arrived and it seems to confirm that this car is actually an 18hp not a 16hp as stated. The V5C records the engine size as 2,201cc whereas an 18hp should be 2,510cc so bidders are advised to form their own opinion.