Not strictly WW2 related so I thought this might be the appropriate place for this : Does anyone have any thoughts on the make and model of this car? The photo is from 1939 and is taken in South West England - I appreciate that there's not much to go off of! Thank you! Phil
Closest I can get to that curious presumably top-hinged roof/window is some sort of Austin 10. Though most don't seem to have suicide doors, and the trafficator looks Ford-y (often aftermarket additions IIRC, so not the best marker.) Hope somebody that gets old cars properly potters along, Phil. I really do need more decent reference on 'em.
According to the Surrey Vintage Vehicle Society, it's a 1933 Lanchester LA10 with Mulliner body. SVVS Web Assistance with Classic, Vintage and Veteran Cars
Mulliner Park Lloyd were coach builders for Rolls Royce in the 60s when I joined RR. They also built the casings for Blue Streak IRBMs - nothing but craftsmen for Britain's nuclear weapons!
Thank you all and particularly RoughEngineeringMadeEasy for posting the photo to SVVS and tracking this down! I headed straight to the Wikipedia entry for the Lanchester Ten and found a photo which is a close match for the car in question: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lanchester_Ten_ca_1935.jpg For what it’s worth, the lady in the back of the car is my great grandmother, and the gentleman in the front is her brother-in-law. At the time, my great grandparents were pub landlords in Lympstone, Devon. As a long time lurker but only occasional poster, I am constantly amazed by the depth of expertise on this forum.
The SVVS is my "go to" place when I need to ID cars, or indeed any vehicles. They really do know their stuff. I'm a bit miffed that I couldn't get it myself. Having owned quite recently a 1951 Lanchester I used to spend a lot of time on the Daimler and Lanchester Owners Club forum, and have probably seen a lot of photos of this model. Senior citizen brain fade has obviously set in. Of course Lanchesters are relevant to the World Wars, being the manufacturers of sub-machine guns, armoured cars and the pre-select gearboxes in Daimler armoured cars. Steve
