Lot Ended
Description
Extremely rare 10hp open two-seater, one of only 15 known to survive;
fully restored in the early 1990s; only 3,000 miles on rebuilt engine; current
owner 13 years; a gorgeous example of
this novel front-wheel-drive sportscar
Although BSA had
built their first car in 1907, they were much better known for their core
business of motorcycle production. They enjoyed some success with a range of
quirky three-wheelers which stole sales from Morgan in the early 1930s but the
car that really put BSA on the radar for the sporting driver was the
Scout.
Described by Autocar as
‘undoubtedly one of the best-looking small cars in existence’, the Scout had
front-wheel drive and a low centre of gravity which gave it remarkably stable
handling compared to rivals like the Riley Nine and the MG
Midget.
Produced in six series from 1935 – 1939,
the Scout was available as a two- or four-seater open sports model or a closed
two-seater coupe. Initially powered by a Hotchkiss-designed 9hp 1,075cc engine,
this had grown to a 10hp 1,203cc unit by the time the Series 4 came out in 1936.
With a Renault-style push/pull 3-speed gearbox
and effective four-wheel brakes, it was considerably cheaper than the MG
T-Series Midget but with comparable 70mph performance. It also had a far more
spacious cabin than its notoriously cramped rivals thanks to a dash-mounted
gearchange and no central transmission tunnel to eat up precious leg-room.
As copies of the factory records show, this
Series VI two-seater sports was supplied new via W Thompson of Hull in October
1936. Little is known of the car’s early history but an extract from an old
logbook shows that by 1962 it was owned by a Mr GR Gibbs of East
Sussex.
The story picks up again in 1987 when it
was acquired in a dismantled state by a long-term BSA FWD Club member, the late
John Chadwick of Warwick. He spent the next five years treating the car to a
total nut-and-bolt restoration, as detailed in many photos on file and in a
5-page feature on the car in the December 1996 issue of The Automobile
magazine. This included a full rebuild of the engine (which is original to the
car) and various upgrades to make it suitable for daily use (e.g. uprated stub
axles and drive shafts).
The odometer was re-set
to zero and Chadwick then covered around 15,500 miles in the car before it
developed an engine fault. Our vendor, a leading light in the owner's
club, acquired the car in 2011 and had the engine fully rebuilt, the
machining work being done by Coventry Boring and Metalling.
He has covered some 3,000 miles in the car since,
including charity hill climbs at Prescott and Kop Hill, and regular
appearances at BSA FWD Club events, including the 90th Anniversary
gathering at Gaydon in 2019. He reports that it runs and drives as well as it
looks. It comes with a good file of history plus an owner’s handbook, period
road tests and much technical literature about the model.
As you can see in the photos, this BSA looks absolutely
gorgeous and comes with a snug-fitting hood and side screens which fold away
neatly behind the seats, plus original style 'half tonneau' cover (see
penultimate photo).
Only about 3,000 Scouts of
all types were made in total, of which only around 30 are known to survive,
including just 15 open two-seaters.
In almost 20 years of hosting these sales this is only the second Scout we have
offered so you are unlikely to see another for sale any time soon, let alone one
as smart as this.
Consigned by James Dennison
– 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com