This is a curious and almost forgotten Vauxhall, built as a prototype originally with a view to a limited production model. The car was built in Northern Switzerland at the Gebrider Zimmerli workshop in Reiden. At the end of World War II all types of cars, new or old, were in very short supply as almost all European production plants had either been converted to aid in the war efforts or in most cases the manufacturing plant and machinery had been destroyed during the hostilities. Switzerland had suffered less than most but had very little heavy industry in the first place and almost all cars were imported.
Prior to the War Werner and Fritz Zimmerli owned a successful Vauxhall & Chevrolet dealership in Reiden In 1948 Vauxhall launched the L Type Wyvern & Velox and so within a small time frame Werner & Fritz had practical experience, ready knowledge and a plentiful supply of Vauxhall parts for the L Type models. Fritz's son, then an apprenticed in the business, convinced his father & uncle that there might be a demand for a two-seat roadster based around the 6 cylinder Velox, with its newly bored out 2275cc engine, and using as many standard Vauxhall parts as possible. Fritz Zimmerli contacted the factory at Luton to suggest the possibility a jointly funded project, however Vauxhall were fully occupied getting as much production from the Luton plant to meet demand for the new L Type and had little interest in what would have been a low volume seller at a time of austerity across Europe. Despite this David Jones, Vauxhalls head of styling, did show interest in the body design and may have made some arm’s length suggestions at the time.
The 2275cc 6 xylinder engine was a tight fit under the bonnet, as it was in the Velox as well.
