Miguel Sánchez
In addition to being a naval commander, Montague Grahame-White is known for his pioneering character in motor racing. Not surprisingly, he learned to drive in 1898 thanks to the teachings of Benjamin Burbidge. The engine engineer who, according to various sources, managed just for those dates the first driving license issued in the UK. This being the case, it is not surprising that those first motorists formed a club only open to those who had obtained their permits before the year 1900. It was the Circle of 19th Century Motorist and really analyze your member list is to open a window on the history of power in the UK.
High-ranking soldiers, wealthy industrialists, successful adventurers, and not a few personalities associated with the English automotive industry. In addition, various automotive jewels of the moment passed through his hands. Many of them documented by Roy Bacon in The Golden Age of British Motoring. One of the best books to contemplate a multitude of photographs related to the beginnings of motoring and motorsport. At this point, it is interesting to follow the life trajectory of the aforementioned Grahame White. Especially when we confirm the year in which he started in the world of racing. 1898. Exactly the same one where he learned to drive.
And it is that those times were like that. There were so few people at the wheel, and this was something so exclusive, that as soon as you learned to drive a car you could become a driver for one of the best brands. Of course, it is also worth remembering the huge proportion of dead competitors during those dates. Something well exemplified by the Paris-Madrid of 1903. Which had to be closed before even reaching Spain because, already in its first stage, there had been eight deaths and almost a hundred injured. 552 kilometers where both spectators and participants died. Among them Marcel Renault, one of the founding brothers of the brand.
However, returning to Commander Grahame White, the taste he took for speed is striking. In this way, also during that 1898 in which he learned to drive, he got hold of a boat powered by a four-cylinder engine. Moreover, it is documented how he personally built a boat powered by two six-cylinder engines and 90CV each. A very fast machine on the water. Especially on the Thames, on whose shores he was known for his speeding passes when he was not serving in colonial India. However, at this point it is worth asking a perhaps somewhat frivolous question. What car would have such a personality?
HISPANO-SUIZA H6B COUPÉ CHASSIS 11608, IN TUNE WITH BENTLEY
After World War I, engineer Marc Birkigt was at the peak of his career. Not surprisingly, his aviation engines had been a key to the victory of France and its allies. In addition, it was the essential name in the mechanical evolution of Hispano-Suiza since its foundation in 1904. With all this, his automotive creations were on a par with those of Rolls-Royce. Also standing out in the sports field thanks to the T45 “Alfonso XIII” and his multiple victories in various GPs held in France and Belgium.
However, after the conflict, a new model was needed with which to renew Hispanic-Suiza. Thus, at the 1919 Paris Motor Show, the H6 was presented. Characterized by its six-cylinder in-line engine and 6.597 cubic centimeters, he took Birkigt's aviation designs to apply them to motorsports. In fact, its mechanics were basically those used in the V12 of French military aircraft, although, of course, split in half. Also, the engine block was forged from aluminum and the crankshaft from a single piece of steel. An exceptional design that, in 1922, delivered 135CV thanks to the update represented by the H6B.
Model of which, in 1926, Grahame White purchased the unit from the factory with chassis number 11608. From then on, once it was received in the United Kingdom, the commander had to worry about its bodywork. And that Hispano-Suiza was served naked. As was common among high-end manufacturers before the XNUMXs. Put in that position, Hispano-Suiza was left in the hands of Hooper & Co.. One of the best English coachbuilders, founded in 1805 although already fully transited to the automotive world. In fact, from 1909 to 1958 he established a very close relationship with Rolls-Royce, wearing multitudes of Silver Ghosts and Phantoms.
However, for this Hispano-Suiza H6B he devised a more than striking body with two doors. Deserving of various awards in elegance contests held during the twenties in Brighton and Monte Carlo. However, sometime in the 3253s it was redressed to its current appearance. And here comes a very curious fact. Since its bodywork is not brand new. Far from it, this design signed by the Park Ward workshops with the number XNUMX was mounted for years on the chassis of a Bentley 6½. For this reason, this Hispano-Suiza reminds us a lot of the two-door models made on the iconic 1926 English model.
In the hands of Grahame White for many years, this H6B subsequently passed through various collections, arriving to this day in perfect condition. Moreover, even after years of use, very few mechanical elements have been replaced. A taste for preserving the qualities of origin that is also seen in the interior, where the same upholstery with which it was released is preserved. Regarding its current price, whoever is a regular reader of our magazine will already know that we hardly ever analyze it in these cases. Not in vain, the Hispano-Suiza are not popular classics. But unique collection pieces and, therefore, obviously very exclusive.
However, in the case of this unit there is something that we do believe it is necessary to comment on. And it is that, during the past 2020, Bonhams He offered it at auction under an estimate of 350.000 to 400.000 pounds, leaving the bid deserted. Of course, on March XNUMX of this same year collecting cars he has managed to sell it for 235.000 pounds. A figure very different from the forecasts handled only two years ago. However, whatever it was, the important thing is to see how the Hispano-Suiza chassis 11608 is excellently preserved. Surely, we will be able to see it within not long in various Contests of Elegance. We'll be alert.
Photographs: Collecting Cars
P.D. Grahame White passed away in 1961. Just one year after the last London meeting of the Circle of 19th Century Motorist. There were few nineteenth-century men like him.
