1902 Warwick 6hp Stanhope

This is a photograph I took at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Boulogne and Hawthorn Trophies Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 2005.

It was with a group of cars that looked as if they should be entered in the Cheshire Life Concours D'Elegance, but none was listed as such in the programme of the event. This is a 1902 Warwick 6hp Stanhope Four-Seater and the DVLA record says that it currently taxed and has a 700cc engine. The car was sold at auction by Bonhams in 2021 and the online description of the car gives this information about it:

'Like many of its contemporaries, Springfield, Massachusetts-based Warwick could trace its roots back to cycle manufacture in the 19th century. In 1901, the company diversified into motor manufacture, but continued under-capitalisation and fierce competition from mass-producers such as Oldsmobile led inevitably to its demise in 1905. The Warwick Cycle & Automobile Company's first product was a De Dion Bouton-engined Runabout. Early cars had the option of 3½hp or 5hp engines, and in 1902 Warwick announced the Folding Front Seat Stanhope powered by the more powerful 700cc 6hp De Dion Bouton engine.

Taken off the road in 1930, this Stanhope arrived in the UK from the USA in 1988 in remarkable 'barn find' condition (photographs taken on its arrival are on file). Most major components were present apart from the gearbox. Its new owner, engineer Roger Egginton, embarked on a painstaking and most comprehensively documented restoration. Having failed to locate an original gearbox, Roger built his own transmission using such photographs as existed for guidance with dimensions taken from the gearbox mountings on the chassis and using suitable available alternatives. The car now has a three-speeds-and-reverse transmission. A later carburettor was fitted during the course of restoration.'