Beschreibung:

1911 WOLSELEY 12-16HP 'FLUSH-SIDED PHAETON' Registration No. G 2760 Chassis No. 10756 Engine No. 183/648 Dark blue with pale coachlining, with black leather interior Engine: four cylinder monobloc, 3 1/8 x 4¾ ins. bore and stroke, 2,372cc, L-head side-valve, water-cooled by thermo-syphon, magneto ignition; Gearbox: three speed and reverse, multi-disc clutch, shaft-drive to underslung worm-drive back axle; Suspension: front, semi-elliptic leaf springs, rear, three-quarter elliptic leaf springs; Brakes: rear wheel and transmission brakes. Rudge-Whitworth detachable wire wheels with beaded-edge tyres. Right hand drive. In the latter part of 1905 when Herbert Austin left the Wolseley Tools and Motor Car Company that the parent company Vickers Sons & Maxim had established in 1901 to begin business in his own right the general management of Wolseley passed to John D. Siddeley. He introduced a range of vertical-engined cars to replace Herbert's horizontals and by 1906 the Wolseley-Siddeley name had been adopted for them. They were well-made conventional cars, although the larger models used chain final-drive, just under seven-hundred being sold in 1906. Turnover was satisfactory but profits were somewhat elusive, car production in two factories 150 miles apart being one of the problems. Siddeley was a forceful, if not arrogant, character and although the cars made under his direction were well-regarded, he was not, and the directors dispensed with his services in 1909. Former technical director Arthur McCormack, described by The Automotor Journal as one of the 'silent' men of the motor industry, in marked contrast to Siddeley, was appointed as Managing Director by the Vickers' board and a process of rationalisation begun. This was much needed as there was an excessive range of four and six-cylinder cars, eight in all, rising in size from the 2-litre 12-16hp to the 8.9-litre 50hp - and most also came with options on the wheelbase length! The model range was reduced to six for 1910, with bulk of output being of smaller cars, principally the new 12-16hp and 16-20hp models. Innovation was limited and the firm concentrated on the virtues that had established Wolseley's reputation: refinement and reliability, whilst they were also fairly priced. In chassis form the 12-16 cost £310, whilst the 3-litre 16-20 was just over one hundred pounds more. Since Wolseley had its own coachbuilding facility a range of complete cars was available ex-works, with standard body styles adding from between £65 for a tourer (which Wolseley called a phaeton) to £175 for a limousine-landaulet. Concluding a comprehensive review of the 16-20hp The Automobile Engineer of June 1910 observed: 'there is a large class of car users who put comfort before anything else, and regard high speeds and violent acceleration as unnecessary. To these the makers of the Wolseley cars have always appealed, and it has undoubtedly proved a successful commercial policy.' Successful the policy because in the last full year of peace, 1913, Wolseley was Britain's largest indigenous motorcar manufacturer producing around 3000 vehicles and a profit of over £160,000. The 12-16hp model was current from 1910 to the end of 1912 and for its final season the piston stroke was increased by a quarter of an inch, this being the only significant change that was made in the three years of production. The Automotor Journal referred to it as 'one of most attractive small cars on the market', although 'small' is clearly a relative term for a 2.3-litre car with a 9 foot 3 inch wheelbase. The great attraction of this 12-16hp beyond its undoubted intrinsic merit is that it looks never to have been restored, but simply to have survived in original and well cared for form. Apart from the inevitable aging of the paintwork this appears to be as originally applied, and the upholstery would seem to be that fitted when new. There are no obvious variations from the standard and under the bonnet such details as