1953 H.R.G. 1500 WS Series

The H.R.G. Engineering Company Ltd. was founded in Kingston-on-Thames in 1935 by ex-Brooklands racers E. A. Halford and H. R. Godfrey who had previously produced designs for G. N. sports cars. The final member of the H.R.G. team was G. Robins from the Trojan car company.

H.R.G. produced a total of 241 cars of which only 111 were 1500 open two-seaters. The factory equipped the 1500 with a H.R.G.- modified Singer-based single overhead-camshaft engine. Interestingly, over 90% of H.R.G cars survive today.

Chassis WS222 was ordered new by Paul Flickinger of Oak Ridge, Tennessee in March 1953 and is the first of only twelve examples equipped with the SM short-stroke Singer engine and is the first with a WS chassis number.

The WS series is considered the most robust of the H.R.G.s, with some details not found on earlier cars. The SM engine is stronger than the earlier longer-stroke version and has a lot more tuning potential. Replacement head and block castings are easy to obtain unlike the longer stroke model. All of the twelve WS series cars were built with the H.R.G./Girling hydraulic brake system which makes this car a nice unaltered example in every way.

The twelve WS chassis were the most expensive H.R.G.s made, built only to order and at the slowest production rate in the company's history.

The chassis of WS222 was laid down on the 1st June 1953 and the car was fitted with engine number 4AD2492W and gearbox number T4AD2407. The H.R.G.s original colour scheme was black with green leather and it was equipped with Girling hydraulic brakes. The body was constructed by the St. Leonards Engineering Company of St. Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex. The completed car was shipped to the US on the 9th December 1953.

Paul then competed at the Savannah Sports Cars races achieving a 4th overall and 2nd in class in the 52 mile Shamrock Cup of 1954. More races followed, posting seven starts, six finishes, one first place, two seconds, two thirds and one sixth. Unfortunately Paul was killed in 1956 when he lost control of a single seater Maserati at the Mount Equinox Hill Climb.

It is believed the H.R.G. was then acquired by US H.R.G. agent Jack Wherry and was subsequently sold to wealthy US enthusiast John Moir of Chocorua. Moir won first place in the foreign car class at the Second Annual Mt. Washington Valley Old Car Show in 1992.

The car was sold sometime in the early 1990s and was later bought by UK dealer Brian Classic who sold it on to John Harper of Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire. In 2016 Harper had the cylinder head rebuilt which included new rocker arms, inlet and exhaust valves, guides and head gasket. The H.R.G. was then purchased by Brian Gent of Carmarthen, Wales in 2019.

This very rare H.R.G. 1500 has been restored to its original specification and remains in very good condition. The car is also eligible for the VSCC's new "Historic Sports Cars category" for drum-braked sports cars built up to December 1955.

The car is now offered for sale on behalf of its current owner.

£59,000