£80,000 price tag on an 1890s car

From the archive, first published Wednesday 21st Nov 2001.

BRITAIN'S earliest petrol driven car, made in Malvern in the 1890s, is expected to fetch £80,000 when it goes under the hammer at a Christie's auction.

Charles and Walter Santler began building the Santler 3½hp Dogcart at Malvernia, their father's Malvern engineering business, in 1887.

After experimenting with various types of engine, in 1894 they installed a vertical combustion unit that allowed the Santler to reach speeds up to 12mph.

"The Santlers built the car for their own interest. They had long dreamed of building a vehicle that powered itself," said Rupert Banner, head of Christie's car department.

However, cars were still unpopular and Santlers never set up as a manufacturer.

"Building cars at that time was quite simply a not a good idea and could have damaged your reputation as an engineer," said Mr Banner.

Until 1896, cars also had to conform to a 4mph speed limit and had to be preceded by a man waving a red flag.

Although the Santler was surpassed by new car designs, it still took part in the Malvern Celebrations for the coronation of King George V in 1911, with a notice on the front calling it Ye Olde Malvern Trackless Car.

After that, the Santler was forgotten until veteran car collector John Mills bought it in the 1930s and took it to his home in Leamington Spa.

"He spoke to the Santler family and did quite a lot of research," said Mr Banner.

The car survived wartime air raids, but much of the paperwork Mills had gathered about it was lost.

In the 1950s, a veteran car restorer called Alec Hodsdon bought the Santler, known at the time as the Malvernian, and fitted it with a Benz engine to make it run again.

The car passed through a number of hands before the current owner bought it in 1985.

The Santler can still be driven today and has recently taken part in Veteran Car Club events and the London to Brighton Run in 1996.

It will be one of 45 car lots at the Exceptional Motorcars auction at Christie's in London on Tuesday, December 4.

Other have been valued from £6,000 to £150,000 and they include a 1909 Rover, a 1913 Calcott and 1997 Jaguar XJ220 supercar.

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