1919 ESSEX
Butternut Yellow Exterior with Black Leather Interior, Gloss Black Fenders, Hickory Wooden Wheels, Older Restoration That Shows Quite Well, Four-cylinder Engine (50hp), 3 Speed Manual Transmission, Runs and Drives This car is an older restoration and is powered by an inline four-cylinder powerplant displacing over 50 horsepower. A three-speed manual transmission transfers power to the rear wheels. Stopping becomes courtesy of rear wheel mechanical brakes. This vehicle is appointed in a light yellow livery with a black interior, both in good condition considering the age of restoration. This is one of the very few Speedsters built, The Hudson Motor Car Company was founded in Detroit in 1909 with the financial backing of department store magnate Joseph L. Hudson. It established a reputation for quality cars which gradually grew more expensive. To broaden its market share, in 1919 Hudson introduced a new light car called the Essex, named after an English county in the hope of giving it a little extra cachet. The name wasn’t the only English influence. The Essex’s four-cylinder engine had “European type” dimensions, meaning a small cylinder bore (favoured in Europe for tax purposes) of 85.7 mm (3.375 in.) and a long stroke of 127 mm (5.0 in.). It displaced 2.9 litres. A further unusual feature was an F-head design with the intake valves in the cylinder head and the exhaust valves in the block. With 55 horsepower, in an era when the Ford Model T had only 20, the Essex was quite fast. This vehicle will sell at public auction on October 29, 2022. Location: Barber Motorsports Museum in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. www.hendersonmotorseries.com for all the details.
