c.1931 Hampton 16hp Open Sports Tourer
Registration no. DG 5009
Chassis no. 10000
Engine no. 10000
•The only one of its type ever built
•Röhr 2.3-litre straight-eight engine
•Known ownership history from new
•Present family ownership since 1961
•Comprehensive history file
•Requires restoration
Footnotes:
A unique example of an obscure British make, this eight-cylinder sports tourer was constructed for his personal use by William Milward, former General Manager and director of Hampton Cars, shortly after the firm's bankruptcy in 1931. The Hampton marque had originated in Hampton-in-Arden in 1911 when William Paddon set up a motor sales business in the eponymous West Midlands village, offering light cars and motorcycles built to order. Sadly, a succession of bankruptcies and enforced re-structuring exercises would dog the company for its entire existence, and when production of motor cars finally ceased in the early 1930s, only some 1,100 had been completed.
One of Hampton's last throws of the dice was company receiver Thomas Godman's order for 50 advanced, independently-sprung chassis and 100 2,262cc overhead-valve straight-eight engines from Röhr in Germany, though in the event none was delivered. Before then, in the autumn of 1930, an eight-cylinder Röhr rolling chassis had arrived at Hampton's factory at Dudbridge in Gloucestershire. William Milward and chief draughtsman Harry Baxter worked hard trying to adapt Röhr's advanced technology into a car suitable for the British market, the result being the prototype Empire Sportsman saloon registered 'GN 5599'. Röhr's bankruptcy in April 1931 effectively killed the project, but in any case Hampton's factory had already been sold.
The fallout from Hampton's 1931 bankruptcy saw William Milward walk away with most of the parts required to build a car for his own use, including the Röhr straight-eight engine from 'GN 5599'. The result was the car offered here, 'DG 5009', which was constructed in the coach house at Milward's home, Blenheim House near Randwick, Gloucestershire. Attached to a ZF Aphon gearbox, the Röhr engine went into a conventional beam-axle chassis, while the car's four-seat tourer body was constructed in aluminium by former Hampton coachbuilder, Edgar Fowles. The Milward's kept the car until William's death in 1946, and the following year it was sold to Mr F L Adams of Churchdown, Gloucestershire, who replaced the Aphon epicyclic 'box with a four-speed Rover unit.
Mr Adams painted the car red and kept it until 1953 when it was sold to one Peter Rawling of Cranham. A year later Rawling sold the Hampton to Derek Wasley in Gloucester. Moving out of its native Gloucestershire for the first time, 'DG 5009' was next owned, from 1955, by William Hirst of Crudwell, Wiltshire, who used the car briefly before consigning it to his scrap yard. The Hampton was still there in 1961 when it was discovered, in a dilapidated state, by Dennis Beedle, who was able to purchase it for £25 (sales receipt on file). Restored over time and repainted in correct Hampton Grey, 'DG 5009' paid a nostalgic visit to Blenheim House with the Beedles in 1997.
Offered for sale by the Beedle family, the car has not been driven for some considerable time and must be considered a restoration project (the engine runs but needs an overhaul). There is a comprehensive history file available containing an old-style continuation logbook (issued 1950); old/current V5C Registration Certificates; assorted correspondence; a quantity of photocopied marque-related literature; a signed copy of Trevor G Picken's book Hampton Cars, in which 'DG 5009' features prominently; and various other items. The car also comes with a selection of spares to include dashboard instruments.
Well known and well documented, this eight-cylinder Hampton represents an exciting opportunity to own a unique 1930s sports tourer with a fascinating history.