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Corrugated Radiators and a Kick Starter
The Horstman was one of the really popular cars of the early 'twenties, and had a great reputation for good workmanship and reliability. Although very few actual sports cars were built, those that were sold performed extremely well. From the earliest days the Horstman sponsors were interested in track- racing, and W. D. Hawkes' single-seater was one of the few cars that could meet, and often beat, the speedy Hillmans and A.C.s.
The makers were keen supporters of the J.C.C. 200 Miles Race from its inception, and in 1923 it was the first British car ever to be fitted with a supercharger. The cars had a highly individual appearance with their "corrugated" radiators tapering to a point. They were also one of the few four-cylinder cars to be fitted with a kick-starter. This device was the subject of many jokes at the period, but worked reasonably well. It consisted of a worm gear which was coupled to the crankshaft through a free wheel. The Archimedean screw principle was applied to operate it, and one lusty kick was sufficient to turn the engine over about three complete turns.
The Anzani-Engined Horstman Super-Sports
The sports model was powered by a 1498-c.c. (66 x 109.5-mm.) Coventry-Simplex unit, but was not particularly noted for speed or performance. The 1496-c.c. Anzani-engined "super-sports" was, however, guaranteed to exceed 70 m.p.h., and was in effect a racing car with sufficient equipment to make it roadworthy. The spatted-type wings were more ornamental than useful and could be detached in a few minutes. An extraordinary feature was the mounting of a single large headlamp on the radiator; this must have caused a blind spot, particularly at night, as it was in line with the driver's vision.
Side lamps were mounted on extension brackets from the dashboard. The usual Brooklands paraphernalia in the shape of outside exhaust, aero windscreens, wire wheels were fitted, beloved of the sporting types of the period. There is no doubt that, in its day, it was an extremely fast car. How well they were built is exemplified by the fact that one of the 200 Miles cars was still performing creditably in competitions up till 1939.
During its lifetime (the concern ceased to produce motor vehicles in 1928), the Horstman was one of the few examples of a car having cantilever springing all round. It must have worked well, for the marque had a fine reputation for comfort, whilst the designer, Sidney Horstman, was one of the leading authorities on suspension up to and even post World War 2. |
