One of the most significant and popular British automobiles of its era, the Morris Ten occupied part of the “10 horsepower” bracket, a section of U.K. automaking that was among the top-selling in the industry. After many years of success with versions of the inaugural design introduced in 1932, the original Ten was succeeded for 1938 by an all-new car, the Ten Series M, which was ahead of its time in the use of unitary construction. At the time, only the Chrysler Airflow and Cord 810 in the United States, and Citroëns in Europe, had used unit body construction, making the Series M quite advanced. However, much of the rest of the car remained conventional, durable, and utterly reliable, including its solid axle suspension and four-cylinder engine.

The Series M saw continuous production for 10 years, 1938 to 1948, with 27,020 built prior to World War II, and 53,566 built thereafter. Relatively few of them were brought to North America, and so they remain a curious and rare sight on these shores.

The car offered here has been refinished in a handsome dark green, but it appears to retain its original brown interior, with a healthy but appealing patina. Many interesting features abound, including windows that open from about 1/3 down from the roof, chrome wheel caps over black steel wheels, and blackwall tires. The Smiths odometer records 41,414 kilometers, which is a believable figure in keeping with the car’s overall solid condition.

A wonderful little curiosity for the enthusiast who has everything, or perhaps the dedicated Morris enthusiast in search of the unusual, this little Ten can easily be considered the cutest automobile on offer this weekend in Hershey. It needs only a Yorkshire terrier and a picnic basket to accompany it at its new home.