Now and again there appears a car which becomes in course of time legendary. Such a vehicle was the 30/98 Vauxhall, the car that seemed to past generations to last for ever. The car owed its existence to the very fine "Prince Henry" model, an Edwardian car of the highest class, and assuredly the fastest touring car of the period. Laurence Pomeroy, Junior., technical editor of The Motor, used one of these original vehicles even post WW2, and claimed it as a model of reliability.
It was said that the 30/98 came into being for Shelsley Walsh Hill-climb to the order of private entries in the pre-1914 era. The very first cars weighed only 18-cwt„ and were powered by a 98 x 150-mm. four-cylinder engine with side valves, mounted in a lighter chassis than that of the "Prince Henry." In 1919 the late Laurence Pomeroy, Senior., turned it into a proper road job. This became the E-type series, which were capable of about 85 m.p.h. with full four-seater bodywork. A high back-axle ratio was used, consequently the car could tool along with no apparent effort at 66 m.p.h. with the engine turning over at 2,000 r.p.m. A racing version was produced which was guaranteed 100 m.p.h.
Humphrey Cook, later associated with the E.R.A., was a notable exponent of Vauxhalls, and had a host of successes with them. He also covered 50 miles (standing start) at an average speed of 91.5 m.p.h. with his 3-litre Tourist Trophy-type two-seater. Although the Vauxhall concern never labelled the 30/98 as a sports car (it was called a fast light touring car), surely if ever a vehicle was essentially sporting this was. The fact that so many of the old side-valve E-types were running around post WW2 conveyed in no small measure the high degree of workmanship that went into their construction.
The overhead-valve version ("OE" type) appeared in 1923, and continued to be produced until 1928, when the policy of the company was changed on their acquisition by General Motors. The o.h.v. engine had a shorter stroke (140-mm.), duralumin conrods were used, and the brakes were improved by the adoption of a four-wheel layout. Earlier cars had cable operation, but this was later altered to hydraulic. No cars of comparable performance were, prior to WW2, marketed under the name Vauxhall; in fact, the Luton factory concentrated almost exclusively on family saloons and limousines with the exception of some semi-sporting cars, based on the earlier six-cylinder cars, particularly the "Hurlingham" series.
Immediately post was only the smaller saloons are being produced, and there was no prospect of a high-performance Vauxhall being built. Under the stewardship of GM, Vauxhalls were primarily built to a price and were not suitable for adaptation to sporting requirements. However, the good name enjoyed by the company was certainly founded by the existence of the incomparable 30/98.
