647 Vernon Derby 1100 Sportscar (1929) DV 3176 by Robert Knight Via Flickr: Vernon Derby (1929) Engine 1100cc S4 SV Registration Number DV 3176 (Devon) VERNON DERBY ALBUM www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/albums/72157626729968249/ The French built Derby sportscars were imported and sold in Britain under the name Vernon Derby powered by an 1100cc SCAP engine, probably supercharged. The Derby company was a British owned and financed company founded in founded at Courbevoie, Seine, in 1921 their first car was a small car with an American-built vee-twin motor-cycle engine, this was soon replaced by a Chapuis-Dornier engine, and the car became virtually a carbon copy of the successful 5CV Citroen. It was cheap, too, and the English concessionaires could afford to sell the two-seater at £195 in 1923, only £30 more than the cost of the Austin Seven. A 9 hp Sports, with wire wheels and a British-built body, costing £275 was shown at the 1923 Olympia Show but very few orders followed, despite a special racing version had already appeared in the 1923 200 miles Race at Brooklands. By 1927, the car was being sold on its sporting merits in England, under the name Vernon-Derby, by its new agent, Vernon Balls, a former veterinary surgeon. By now, the 8 hp Derby had gained a four-speed gearbox instead of the three-speed unit originally fitted, plus brakes on all wheels. Despite the improvements, the price remained at £275. The agency passed to Morgan Hastings Limited, of Berkeley Street, London, in 1928, although the Vernon-Derby name was retained for a while Three models were now available, the original 9 hp sports, plus two new models, the side-valve 1.5-Iitre sports and the 14 hp. Both had proprietary six-cylinder power units. Another new model appeared in 1929, replacing the side-valve 1.5-liter. This was the 12 hp six, which had a smaller power unit than its predecessor and, again, was a side-valve unit. Diolch am 97,031,483 o olygfeydd anhygoel, mae pob un yn cael ei werthfawrogi'n fawr. Thanks for 97,031,483 amazing views, every one is greatly appreciated. Shot 07.08.2022, at the VSCC Prescott Speed Hill Climb, Prescott, Gloucestershire REF 162-647
