6 cylinder overhead valve engine of 3 litres with coil ignition and a single carburettor developing around 105 bhp. 4 speed preselector gearbox with no clutch. 9’ 6” chassis with a copy of a Darracq four seater tourer body
Model History
The 90 was originally developed in 1930 from the standard 75 model as a sports racing car. Two Talbot 90 Speed Models using 2¼ litre engines came third and fourth at Le Mans in 1930, only being beaten by two 6½ litre Bentleys with engines three times the size of the Talbot engines.
GX 550
Originally this car was a 90 Speed Model fitted with a 2¼ litre engine. Sometime before 1953 it was fitted with a 3 litre engine and pre-selector gearbox which allows relaxed cruising at 70 m.p.h. This, coupled with excellent brakes (look at the size of the brake drums), precise steering and good road-holding allows the car to cope easily with modern traffic conditions. In 1954 it was bought by a Mr Thompson who added a homemade boat tail and used it to go to St Tropez for his honeymoon in 1955. It passed through quite a few hands subsequently and was used hard on the racetrack before being bought by the present owner in 1970. When acquired it was in poor condition, needing to be completely rebuilt. The rotten body was replaced by a new body in ash and aluminium that is a close copy of the original. It is now very reliable car, being used most weeks and is eminently suitable for long distance touring.
Major trips
2004 Le Mans.
2008 Paul Easter trip to France and Switzerland.
2009 VSCC Malvern.
2010 Hunstanton, Le Mans, Peak District.
2011 Montlhery, Norfolk.
2112 Le Mans.
2013 Italy, Southwest England.
2014 Le Mans.
2015 Northern Spain & back through France.
2016 Angouleme, Loire, Wales.
2017 TOC East of England tour.
2018 Northern Spain.
2019 Kopp Hill, Lake District, Wales.
2024 Going to the Pyrenees in late August.
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