Every car is an argument about what matters, and the Vauxhall 23-60 makes its case with I4 3969 cc and 60 bhp @. Vauxhall built from 1922 to 1925 — the vintage years, when coachbuilders still shaped most of what was sold. The shape is credited to Charles Evelyn King.
The story
The Vauxhall 23-60 is a four or five-seater touring car manufactured by Vauxhall of Luton that was announced in July 1922. The 23-60's standard tourer Kington body was described as "preserving that greyhound look so characteristic of the Vauxhall car". It shared many parts with Vauxhall's much more powerful 30-98.
The 23-60 replaced the Vauxhall 25 which had given sterling service during World War I and from which the 23-60 was developed. Its reliability made Vauxhall's name for dependability. The 23-60 remained in production until the introduction of the ultra-smooth six-cylinder Burt-McCollum type single-sleeve-valve Vauxhall 25-70 was announced in October 1925. General Motors took control of Vauxhall 16 November 1925.
What is underneath
The engine is I4 3969 cc; the output is 60 bhp @. On the scales it comes to 3584 lb. That is roughly 17 horsepower per tonne: leisurely, which for a car of its age and purpose is the point. Drive goes through a multiplate clutch run with graphite coupled by a fabric joint to the 4-speed gearbox to the spiral-bevel driven rear axle located by torque girders. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 10'10" 130 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Its place in the line
In the Vauxhall line-up the Vauxhall 23-60 has a clear place: it replaced the Vauxhall 25; it handed the line to the Vauxhall 25-70; the factory was Luton U.K.. Nearby in the Vauxhall catalogue sit the Vauxhall 10-4 and the Vauxhall 30/98.
Owning one today
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Vauxhall 23-60 has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.