According to the Talbot Factory ledgers ‘AUU’ was delivered in November of 1933 to leading London Talbot dealers Pass & Joyce, who almost certainly commissioned James Young to produce the coachwork on the car today. The cars first known owner was Francis S. Laskey of South Nutfield who purchased the car from dealers ‘The Car Mart’ in 1935, Mr Laskey retained the car until 1950.
The cars next owner was Architect R.P. Gray of Whitehaven, he acquired the car at auction in London in 1950- see notes on file. Gray used the car but it seems to have spent most of its time with him having various aspects worked on, as evidenced by many invoices on file, until passing it onto well-known Devon based collector Colin Vincent in the 1980s. It remained unused in Vincent’s museum until he sold the car onto a P.D Hosen in 1990. Hosen almost straight away passed it onto founder of our sister restoration company I.S Polson- Ian Polson. Ian had wanted to buy the car from Vincent for many years recognizing it as a very rare survivor of the most sporty and rapid 4-seat saloon made by Talbot, finally being in a position to buy the car, he was frustrated to find he had missed out and so bought the car from Hosen.
Ian embarked upon a full rebuild of what was a tired but very complete and genuine car (pleasingly found to retain the original engine) and had completed it up to the stage of a running and driving chassis when he reluctantly sold the car onto Sunbeam and Talbot restorer Bill Barrott in 1995, who again recognized it as a very capable and rare survivor. Bill completed the restoration to a very high standard and used the car for comfortable high speed touring as the manufacturers had intended, before passing it onto the current owner in 2010.
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