Napier historian Derek Goodmark recorded this Cunard-bodied 30/35 HP T44 as having been delivered from the factory in June 1913. It was purchased by Sir Joseph B Robinson, a legendary figure of the Kimberly diamond mines and Witwatersrand gold fields in South Africa, who made and spent vast fortunes. Sir Joseph utilised the car initially in London then, after selling that property, had it moved to Hawthornden House. His imposing Second Empire residence in Cape Town continues to house members of his family to this day.

Natale Labia, one of Sir Joseph’s grandsons, wrote to a later owner that “it was one of a group of early cars which are very much part of my childhood memories. For some reason my family—my grandfather, mother, and uncle—seemed reluctant to part with cars they had owned. The South Africa-based cars, once it was time to ‘pension them off,’ were all put into a large shed in the Hawthornden garden, then a good deal larger than today. As school boys we would peep into the shed and gaze in awe at these strange machines.” South African motoring historian Robert Johnston was among those to discover the car in the Hawthorden shed in 1959, writing that “it was a dark greenish color and very original”.

The cars were eventually inherited by Sir Joseph’s daughter, Princess Vera Labia. Following her passing in 1961, her son Joseph Labia took over care of the Napier, moving it to London and, after gentle recommissioning, having it driven by Tony Jennings in events at Crystal Palace and elsewhere. Finally, in 1968 it was sold from his mother’s estate at a Sotheby’s sale at the Royal Horticultural Hall to Victor Crabb.

Mr Crabb appears to have largely stored the car until his death in 1992. The following year, it was sold by his son-in-law to Peter Vacher of Oxon, who in turn passed it in 2002 to Simon Fisher of Nairobi, returning it to South African ownership. Mr Fisher undertook a meticulous recommissioning of the car in the hands of Hightone Restorations and Ashton Keynes Vintage Restorations, with numerous invoices for mechanical works and repairs on file. He continued to keep the car cosmetically as original as possible, retaining the original upholstery—although the 1913 bulkhead had begun to crumble and was thus replaced correctly—and the body eventually had to be refinished. The car was Veteran Car Club dated as a 1913 for Mr Fisher in 2003.

At last the car was acquired by the late Jim Boland from Mr Fisher in the autumn of 2010, and has since remained in his collection alongside many other Edwardian cars of similar originality, quality, and rich provenance. It retains such memorable features as the Lucas lamps acquired for it by Princess Labia, as mentioned in some of the correspondence. It had not originally been fitted with electrical equipment, as none had yet been developed suitable to the South African climate. Please note, following a period of static display, it is recommended that the car is inspected by a mechanic prior to being driven.

It is an amazing machine in every regard, and surely nearly without peer in its provenance, even among the storied ranks of significant Napiers.