Lot 12
1924 La Buire Type 12A Saloon Project
Coachwork by Hollingdrake Registration no. MB 4441 Chassis no. 1604 Engine no. 1404
Amended
20 March 2016, 13:00 GMT
Chichester, GoodwoodSold for £9,200 inc. premium
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Motor Cars (UK)
Client Services (UK)
1924 La Buire Type 12A Saloon Project
Coachwork by Hollingdrake
Registration no. MB 4441
Chassis no. 1604
Engine no. 1404
Coachwork by Hollingdrake
Registration no. MB 4441
Chassis no. 1604
Engine no. 1404
*Rare quality French make
*Eligible for VSCC events
*Present ownership for circa 14 years
*Sold as a nearly-completed project
Footnotes
The La Buire motor car was built in Lyons by an established engineering company: Chantiers de la Buire. The latter's first venture into powered transport, in the late 1890s, was as a manufacturer of steam engines and vehicles, which were followed by an electric car in the early 1900s. The first La Buire powered by an internal combustion engine appeared in 1904, and the following year a new company - Société des Automobiles La Buire - was formed to manage the motor manufacturing side of the business. La Buire built a range of four-cylinder cars including a 13.6-litre Leviathan, one of which was driven in UK hill climbs by Joseph Higginson.
Bankrupt in 1909, the firm was taken over by Michel Berthier, its technical director, and for the next year its products were sold under the Berthier name. Fresh financial backing saw the firm reorganised in the autumn of 1910 as 'Société Nouvelle de la Buire Automobiles'; the original marque name was reinstated for 1911. The La Buire range continued to consist entirely of four-cylinder cars and production remained relatively modest, amounting to around 200 cars annually by 1914. A single 12/14hp model was offered immediately after WWI. Some smaller models were produced in the mid-1920s, but production dwindled thereafter and the factory closed in 1930.
La Buire's UK importer was Hollingdrake of Stockport, Cheshire. Hollingdrake made their own bodies up to circa 1924 before subcontracting the work to close neighbours, G W Smith, and this car carries Hollingdrake's plaque on the body. Peter Price sold the car to the previous owner, Bob Danaher, following whose death it was purchased as an un-restored project by Kingsley Curtis (photographs on file).
Restoration commenced around 2007, the bodywork renovation being undertaken by Nick Paravani with woodwork by David Friswell and mechanical refurbishment by Peter Barber-Lomax (invoices on file). The restoration has been undertaken to a point where a starter needs to be fitted; the interior re-trimmed; and various other detail works completed.
The interior was originally trimmed with a striking striped fabric, fragments of which survive, and the intention was to replicate this. Sold as a part-completed project, this rare Vintage-era French motor car is offered with a V5 registration document.
Saleroom notices
Since the time of cataloguing a starter motor has been fitted, the car can now be run and has been driven a short distance during which it was reported to run well.