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The-Transport-Guild — 1950 Vauxhall Velox

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Published: 2015-06-04 12:19:57 +0000 UTC; Views: 361; Favourites: 5; Downloads: 0
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Description Over the past few days, my hometown of Teignmouth has been transformed into a movie set as part of the upcoming movie about Donald Crowhurst, who sailed from this town in his catamaran called the 'Teignmouth Electron' in 1968 as part of the Golden Globe single-handed sailing race around the planet. As part of the filming, pretty much every 1960's car, bus and van has been requisitioned by the film crews to turn my sleepy little fishing town into what it was supposed to look like back in 1968, and these are just a few examples.

One of those interesting designs that followed the American style formula, the Vauxhall Velox was to make a strange change from its original incarnation as a small family car to a large saloon to compete with the Ford Zephyr, whilst still maintaining a US look about it.

The Velox made its début shortly before the London Motor Show in October 1948 as a successor to the Vauxhall Fourteen. Between 1948 and 1957 the Velox shared its body with the less powerful four-cylinder Vauxhall Wyvern. Between 1957 and 1965 it shared its body with the more luxuriously equipped Vauxhall Cresta.

The Velox and its Opel contemporaries are remembered for having mirrored North American styling trends much more closely than other European models of the time. This was particularly apparent following the introduction in 1957 of the PA version of the Velox.The classic four-door saloon boasted a newly developed straight-six-cylinder engine of 2275 cc, with overhead valves. The 54hp power output provided for a claimed top speed of 74mph. Power was delivered to the rear wheels via a three-speed manual gear box with synchromesh on the top two ratios.

Optional extras included a heater from which warm air was evenly distributed between the front and back areas of the passenger cabin and which could be set to de-ice the windscreen in winter or to provide cool air ventilation in summer. Also available at extra charge was an AM radio integrated into the fascia.

The body was shared with the four-cylinder Vauxhall Wyvern, a pattern that continued with subsequent versions of the Velox until 1957. The interior of the Velox was not greatly differentiated from that of the Wyvern, but it could boast superior seating materials and, for the rear seat, a central arm rest.

A car tested by The Motor magazine in 1949 had a top speed of 74.1mph and could accelerate from 0–60 mph in 22.8 seconds, with a fuel consumption of 22.3 miles per gallon. The cost of the car when sales began in 1948 was £550 tax included, equivalent today of £19,200.
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