1933 Lanchester Doctor’s Coupe

The Lanchester Ten and Lanchester Eleven were sold by The Lanchester Motor Company Limited from the Ten’s announcement in September 1932 until 1951. Quite different from previous Lanchesters, the Ten was the second (it followed the Lanchester 15/18) of Lanchester’s new owner’s new Daimler-linked Lanchester range. The names Ten and Eleven referred to the engine’s rating for the annual tax and did not relate to the engine’s power output.

This 1933 Lanchester Doctor’s Coupe is very original and unmolested example of a rare aluminium coachbuilt convertible Lanchester with dickey seat. Fitted from new with an attractive coachbuilt drophead ‘Doctors’ Coupe body with dickey seat by the famous coachbuilder’s Martin Walter, known for their Bentley bodies.

The revolutionary Daimler fluid flywheel and Wilson pre-selector gearbox operate as expected and make for an easy and relaxing driving experience. The car steers well and the brakes pull up well and true. Of course with a car of this age there are areas that could be improved  – the hood frame has suffered and will require some woodwork, the paint is not perfect and the wiring could be tidied up in areas.

The engine was a 1.2-litre (later 1.4-litre) four-cylinder overhead-valve unit producing 34bhp at 4,000rpm. The car had an adequate performance with a top speed of just over 60mph (96km/h).