When replicas are acceptable...

e • • • When replicas are acceptabl

I suppose a replica is acceptable if the real car it represents is lost forever. One such was the copy of a Wolseley ‘Moth’, like those produced by AG Miller at Brooklands in 1921, after he had persuaded Arthur McCormack of Wolseley’s that this was just the publicity required for its new OHC Wolseley Ten. This was a decidedly slow car, but somehow Miller got a lap speed of over 88mph from one of his Moths, which were named after variety girls of his acquaintance. Woolf Barnato raced a Moth long before Bentleys were born, and Froy used one in 1927 to prevail in

a 50-mile handicap race (see story above). I told the full Moth story in MotorSport long ago.

Von de Becke put a supercharger on a Moth engine, which survived until the flywheel exploded at the Brighton Speed Trials.

After they had all vanished, John End made an excellent replica and contested VSCC events with it. I believe he is now contemplating resuscitating it. A friend of his made another fine replica of the twoseater Wolseley Ten that had run in the 1922 JCC 200 Mile race. This too vanished, but was auctioned recently for £12,000.

Years ago I met someone who had found a 1920s Wolseley 15 chassis and proposed to make a replica of the larger of Miller’s cars, which did well in 2-litre and 2.6litre form, but of this I have heard no more.