Vintage hot rod

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The formative years of the VSCC were heady days indeed, defined, it would seem, by dashing young men with bristling military moustaches developing Spartan specials to be driven hell-for-leather, long before precious notions of investment value were ever conceived. That may be a generalisation, but it is tremendously appealing to the Romantic mindset and not without truth.

Alan Southon was one such driver and his HE special is one such car. Using a combination of Bugatti and Vauxhall parts alongside the 1923 HE 13/30 engine and chassis, Southon began tweaking the car to give younger models a run for their money and ultimately created what is now recognised as one of the first VSCC specials. With an alloy cylinder head and lightened flywheel, the rear section of a Bugatti Type 30 chassis including its reversed quarter-elliptic springs, Vauxhall 14/40 back axle, Perrot brakes and various aircraft components, Southon’s special perfectly embodies the VSCC’s ethos of having fun with old cars.

The car was campaigned with appropriate vigour throughout the 1930s, and after Southon sold it, the car passed through several enthusiastic hands until a Vintage specialist completed its renovation in 2017, adding his own personal stamp to the car in the process. Mick Walsh uncovers the history of this fascinating period piece in the April 2019 issue of The Automobile, available now.

Words by Zack Stiling. Photographs by Stefan Marjoram.

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