2,762 cc inline overhead valve six-cylinder engine, four-speed manual gearbox, solid front axle and live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs, and four-wheel mechanical brakes.

- Striking boat-tail speedster with single-passenger dickey seat

- Fully upgraded and outfitted for vintage touring

- Original components available

The Vauxhall 20/60 was introduced in 1927 and was powered by an overhead-valve inline six-cylinder engine of 2,762 cc, the company’s first six since 1915, married to a three-speed gearbox. Cataloged body styles ranged from short-wheelbase tourers to extended limousines. Unique in this range was the Hurlingham boat-tail speedster.

Vauxhall’s last vestige of a sporting model until the 1960s, the Hurlingham had a seductively sculpted tail, festooned with a clever single-passenger dickey seat, which offered the occupant a personal vee-configuration windscreen once ensconced. The Hurlingham was also given taller gearing than the standard 20/60 to better tour the countryside. Higher compression was advertised as well.

Purchased from the highly respected Abba Kogan collection in 2004, this smart Hurlingham boat-tail speedster drew many admirers when exhibited at the prestigious Greenwich Concours d’Elegance in Connecticut in 2007, where it earned the People’s Choice award in the ‘Concours Europa’ event presented by Automobile magazine, just weeks after taking the ‘Best Boat Tail’ award at the Newport Concours, where boat tail cars were featured. It was acquired in 2008 by a couple who then lavished considerable care and investment to prepare it for extensive vintage touring.

The wood sub-frame for the body was rebuilt, and the car was brought to a high level of cosmetic presentation. This included five new, custom UK-built wire wheels. Mechanically, the engine’s top end was rebuilt and was treated to new pushrods and valve springs while the water pump was rebuilt as well. The original single-throat carburetor was exchanged for twin side-draft SUs, and an electric fuel pump was fitted. A complete brake overhaul was accomplished, the springs rebuilt and re-arched and new king pins, tie rod ends, wheel bearings and seals fitted. A modern four-speed synchromesh gearbox was installed, using a custom-designed bell housing and specially-selected gear ratios, and the pedal arrangement was converted from center-accelerator to a conventional layout. Other enhancements include a new-old-stock distributor, stainless steel exhaust, rebuilt instruments, re-cored radiator and a reconditioned and epoxy-lined petrol tank. Some further modifications were subtly fitted, such as a hidden battery for an electric fan and a camouflaged alternator. The original generator remains in its proper place. Receipts are available for all this work.

All modifications made are reversible, should a future owner prefer strict originality. Ready for show or the most ambitious vintage tour, this unusual example of a sporting Vauxhall is bound to be a celebrity wherever it appears. Reflective of its overall and recently improved presence, it won Best of Show at the 2010 Scarsdale Concours.

Original parts were retained, including the original three-speed gearbox, and a quantity of spares have also remained with the owner and are available to the successful bidder, FOB from NY State.