Chassis: 31084
Engine: AV34A
Salesroom Addendum
Please note that this vehicle has an acceptance to the 1000 Miglia Warm Up USA Event in October 2024, subject to registration and payment of entry fee, as well as a completed pre-check for the 1000 Miglia 2025.
One of Talbot’s Victorious Team Entries in the 1932 Alpine Trial
First in Class Winner at the 2023 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®
Veteran of Contemporary Historic Rallies Including the 1000 Miglia, Liège-Rome-Liège Rally, and the Flying Scotsman
Documented with over 400 Pages of Service Records, Including over £65,000 in Recent Work
A Significant British Tourer in Its Striking Original Color; Retains Its Matching-Numbers Engine per Clement Talbot Chassis Register
2,969 CC OHV Inline 6-Cylinder Engine
Single Zenith Downdraft Carburetor
132 BHP at 4,800 RPM
4-Speed Manual Gearbox
4-Wheel Drum Brakes
Front Solid Axle with Semi-Elliptical Leaf-Springs
Rear Live Axle with Quarter-Elliptical Leaf-Springs
Following Talbot’s impressive 3rd and 4th Place showings at Le Mans in 1930, the firm’s brilliant engineer Georges Roesch capitalized on this success by introducing the improved AV105 model for 1931. The Kensington firm’s crowning achievement came the following year when three Fox & Nicholl AV105 team cars competed in the grueling Alpine Trial and emerged victorious with a class victory in the event’s most prestigious category, the Coupe des Alpes, which was awarded to the three-car team that finished with the fewest point deductions. Offered here is one of those team cars, authentically restored to exacting standards and accompanied by a staggering amount of historical documentation.
This car, chassis 31084, was delivered July 8, 1932, to London-dealer Warwick Wright Ltd. Power came from Talbot’s new high-compression, three-litre, inline six-cylinder engine that produced a robust 132 hp channeled through a close-ratio four-speed gearbox. Signature Vanden Plas tourer coachwork was fitted, and all three team cars received additional rally modifications, including lightweight Elektron sumps and gearbox casings.
The Alpine Trial was Europe’s most demanding endurance test, a six-day, 1,625-mile trek, traversing Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, and Italy. The Talbot trio secured Coupes des Alpes top class honors with zero deductions for mechanical failure, a feat never before achieved in the event’s history. According to FIVA documentation on file, its post-Trial ownership history can be traced to 1953, passing through the hands of a number of British owners before acquisition by David Thomson of London, in 1997. Marque specialist Ian Polson restored the car over two years, including a bare metal strip, revealing its wonderful original color. Mechanical and electrical components were also addressed, including a rebuild of its gearbox and matching-numbers engine. Mr. Thomson toured extensively with 31084, participating in the Liège-Rome-Liège Rally for four consecutive years, the 1000 Miglia twice and the 75th Anniversary of the Alpine Trials in 2007. Throughout its touring history, 31084 never failed to complete a driving event and an engine rebuild by Pace Products was performed in 2017. The consignor acquired the Talbot about five years ago and had SBP Historics and Ian Polson bring the car up to an entirely new level. Over £65,000 in receipts on file document recent work performed, including paintwork, a new top and side curtains, exterior hardware plating, and interior components. Chassis 31084 rightfully garnered a First in Class award at the 2023 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®.
Fresh off its prestigious concours win, with on-road prowess validated on numerous occasions, 31084 exemplifies the early British sports car. It is accompanied by more than 400 pages of historical records and receipts, spares, FIVA Identity Card and 1000 Miglia Registro Certificate, making this historic automobile extraordinarily well-documented. Marketed new as “the Invincible Talbot,” this example certainly lives up to that name.
Warwick Wright Ltd., London, England (acquired new in 1932)Donald Nicholas, London, England (acquired in 1953)
Alexander Murray, Leicester, England (acquired from the above in 1954)
Raymond Jolliffe, Somerset, England (acquired from the above in 1957)
Brian Silvester, Birmingham, England (acquired from the above in 1958)
McEwen and Bell, Sheffield, England (acquired from the above in 1964)
Jeremy Wallinston, London, England (acquired from the above in 1964)
Brian Grigg, London, England (acquired from the above in 1965)
Bill Barrott, Sheffield, England (acquired from the above in 1996)
David Thomson, London, England (acquired from the above in 1997)
David Cook, Darlington, England (acquired from the above in 2008)
Current Owner (acquired from the above)
