At Brooklands on 26 October 1910 this became the first 20hp car ever to top 100mph.
Lead trim: A-Type 20 hp A09 3.0 four (Oct 1908–Oct 1910; 38 bhp) · up to 80 hp
Vauxhall A-Type 20/22/16-20 hpA-TYPE · 1908–1915
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FactAt Brooklands on 26 October 1910 this became the first 20hp car ever to top 100mph.
The Vauxhall A-type, a four-cylinder medium-sized car built from 1908 to 1914 (October 1908 to 1915 in the infobox, with one last car put together in 1920), was the first production Vauxhall designed by Laurence Pomeroy, who joined in 1907 as an assistant draughtsman aged 22 and made his mark at the 1908 RAC and Scottish Reliability Trial with a development of Vauxhall's 12-16 called Y1 (the design entering production in 1908 as the 20 hp). Production was mostly the 3-litre version, producing either 38 bhp in the earlier models or 60 bhp later, both rated "20hp" for tax, with a small number of 3.5-litre engines (22 tax horsepower); at Brooklands on 26 October 1910 it became the first 20 hp car to exceed 100 mph, and the model preceded the Prince Henry and the 30-98. Four distinct versions were built: the A09 (253 cars, Oct 1908–Oct 1910), A11 (359, Oct 1910–Jun 1912), A12 (36 as a 20 hp in 1912; 21 as a 22 hp 3½-litre, Nov 1912–1915) and the 16-20 (271, 1912–1915, redesigned engine and chassis, announced in November 1912 at £395 for the chassis); fewer than two dozen survive of the roughly 950 produced. The side-valve monobloc engine had forced lubrication, a gear-driven camshaft and magneto until the 16-20 moved to chain drive, a four-speed gearbox (three-speed on some earliest cars) and a cone or, later, multi-plate clutch; chassis lengths were 9 ft 7 in (115 in) or 10 ft 3 in (123 in). The page dates the 38 and 60 bhp outputs only as the earlier and later models, and gives an 80 bhp figure for 1913 without saying for which engine.
Collectors Spotted in the Vauxhall A-Type Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Vauxhall A-Type yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
4 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-Type 16-20 hp A12 3.0 four (1912–1915) | 1912–1915 | 3.1 L Inline-4 | 80 hp | — | — | — | — | — |
| A-Type 20 hp A09 3.0 four (Oct 1908–Oct 1910; 38 bhp) | 1908–1910 | 3.1 L Inline-4 | 38 hp | — | — | — | — | — |
| A-Type 20 hp A11 3.0 four (Oct 1910–Jun 1912; 60 bhp) | 1910–1912 | 3.1 L Inline-4 | 60 hp | — | — | — | — | — |
| A-Type 22 hp A12 3½-litre four (Nov 1912–1915) | 1912–1915 | 3.4 L Inline-4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Owning one
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Owners’ builds
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Rivals
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