The first new Vauxhall model, the 30/98, was built in 1913 as a better, faster and more practical development of the Prince Henry, but its career, as a production car, really belongs to the years after the end of the First World War.
The original 30/98 was solidly built, which made it heavy, but it was also fast, and combined impressive performance with good road holding by the standards of the 1920’s.
A fully road-equipped 30/98 was capable of around 85 mph, and when stripped for racing the company guaranteed a top-speed in excess of 100 mph for the later overhead-valve models, a capability demonstrated at Brooklands on numerous occasions.
About 270 cars were built before a redesign followed in 1922, which produced the equally legendary OE-Type. The main change was to the engine, which was converted to overhead-valve operation on advice from Ricardo (this explains the ‘O’ of the new title). This vehicle produced a rousing 115 horsepower. It was an outstanding car, though increasingly this was measured by pre-war standards, and compared to the Bentley it was still a light motor car.
