1931 Hampton Straight Eight

Are you sitting comfortably?

Good.

This story takes some telling.

A unique example of a long-gone 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 (final) bankruptcy in 1931.

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 (you really couldn’t make this up) 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 Milwards 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 should be considered as a recommissioning (and partial rebuilding) project.

We can report that the engine does start and turn over.

The vendor is Dennis Beedle’s daughter. She tells us that her father, who had worked in the motor industry and was a skilled and enthusiastic mechanic, undertook pretty much all of the restoration work himself and would spend as much of his spare time as possible tinkering away in his garage on ‘DG 5009’.

She believes the car was last driven in the 1990s and has sat idle ever since.

The vendor thinks that with the exception of some missing sections of wooden flooring, pretty much everything needed to put the car fully back together again is either on the car, in the car, or occupying the various boxes of parts and spares that come with it.

It’s a handsome car and presents well from every angle.

The bodywork is solid and free from any significant dents, dinks, creases, ripples or folds.

The doors slam home with a weight and precision that would be impressive in a modern car, let alone one that was put together in 1931.

The Hampton Grey paintwork has held up pretty well overall.

The panel gaps and shut lines are consistent and even.

The wire wheels appear to be in fine fettle, as does most of the chrome work, the lights, badging and other external fixtures and fittings.

There is some apparently superficial rust in evidence on visible front suspension components and a few nicks, scuffs and scratches on both flanks.

There are patches off chipped-off paint on top of the front wheel arches and some rust has taken up residence in the space vacated by the paint on the n/s of the two.

There is some scuffing and wear to the leading edge of the door on the n/s.

The fabric hood appears to be in very decent order.

Clearly, the interior is partly disassembled (the dashboard is hanging loose at present), partly missing (sections of wooden flooring are absent), and partly stored in boxes (e.g., the dashboard instruments).

That said, what’s there to be seen is really fairly good.

The red leather seats are comfortable, supportive, functional and devoid of any significant creasing or other damage that we can see.

The steering wheel looks to have survived its 91 years of life with remarkable stoicism.

Obviously, there’s work to be done, but it doesn’t take much imagination to see how close this car might be to reclaiming its former glory.

The undersides of the car look pretty straight and true to us and everything seems to have a good deal of structural integrity (apart from the gaps where the wooden floor sections should be, of course).

It’s the same story in the engine bay.

The car doesn’t currently have an MoT certificate.

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 Picken's book Hampton Cars, in which 'DG 5009' features prominently (and is referred to as the ‘Milward Hampton’); and various other items.

The car also comes with a selection of duplicate parts and spares, include dashboard instruments, sections of bodywork and a tonneau cover among many others.

This is a car with few if any secrets – its life has been thoroughly documented and its history diligently curated.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to a very good standard.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

“It was a beautiful car, very smooth riding, with a remarkable top gear performance and really extraordinary acceleration."

So said Mr. Douglas Jefferies of Stonehouse, near Stroud, an observer who knew the car in the 1930’s (he referred to it as the ‘Hampton Special’) and photographed it while it was being driven around the Brecon Beacons by the Milwards.

By any measure, this is an extraordinary car.

A whole chapter of the Trevor Picken's definitive book on Hampton Cars is dedicated to this precise vehicle.

Not only is it wholly unique, it also has a fully documented life with known owners, the last of whom, together with his family, looked after the car for over 60 years.

And when we say it’s unique, check out the chassis and engine numbers recorded by the DVLA for this car.

Chassis No: 100000

Engine No: 100000

Yes. It’s a one-off.

There never were, nor ever will be, any others.

Just imagine owning something that special….

We’re happy to offer this superb vehicle for auction with an estimate in the range of £25,000 - £30,000.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; we are open weekdays 9am-5pm, to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.