A Napier Taxi

As those who have followed this blog for any length of time over a year will know Art Deco Weekend is of great interest to me because of the Veteran cars that attend.  In fact they are, I think, one of the principal attractions of the weekend.  New Zealand has a huge number of such vehicles.  Vehicles in general tend to last a lot longer here anyway because there is no salt used on the roads.  In fact I was offered a Morris 10 vintage about 1948 a few years ago which was being used on an everyday basis by its owner at that time and was in superb condition.  Many of the more interesting vehicles have apeared on this blog at one time or another but this year there were a few new ones of interest.  In particular there was a Napier Taxi.  Not, I would add, a taxi used in Napier but a taxi made by the D. Napier & Son Limited.  The company had a very rich history and, in fact, was a British engine and pre-Great War (the "brass era") automobile manufacturer and one of the most important aircraft engine manufacturers in the early to mid-20th century. Their post-First World War Lion was the most powerful engine in the world for some time in the 1920s.  Their Wikipedia entry is worth a read and even the most enthusiastic veteran car enthusiast will probably be at least a little surprised.

This particular vehicle was manufactured in England in 1910 and has a 2.7 litre 4 cylinder engine.  It started life as a London Taxicab before being shipped to Marton in 1914 where it was a taxi until about 1920 when it was abandoned on a farm.  Rediscovered in 1971 it was bought by its present owners (Paul and Bev Hicks of Warkworth) in 1990 and restored for their daughter's wedding in 2010.