Every car is an argument about what matters, and the Vauxhall Prince Henry makes its case with I4 and 1911—60 bhp @2,800 rpm. Vauxhall built from 1911 to 1914 — as the assembly line was turning motoring into an industry. Its designer of record is Laurence Pomeroy.
The story
The Vauxhall Prince Henry was a car manufactured by Vauxhall from 1911 to 1914. It had a length of around 159 inches (4.04 m) and a weight of 2,750 lb (1,250 kg) depending on the model and the coachwork fitted. It is often thought of as the first sports car insofar as its high performance depends less on brute strength and more on overall excellence of design and sturdiness of construction.
What is underneath
Under the skin sits I4; it is rated at 1911—60 bhp @2,800 rpm; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Kerb weight is 1250 kg depends on body. Power-to-weight lands near 1529 horsepower per tonne, which is hypercar territory, where the limiting factor is the tyre, not the engine. The gearbox is a four-speed sliding-pinion gearbox, live axle. 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 1911—117 in / 1913—120 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Its place in the line
Where it sits in Vauxhall's history is not in doubt: the Vauxhall 20 hp came before it; the Vauxhall 30-98 followed it; it was built at Luton. Nearby in the Vauxhall catalogue sit the Vauxhall 10-4 and the Vauxhall 30/98.
The money
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Vauxhall Prince Henry 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.