Wolseley 4/50

Wolseley 4/50

8,925 built Australia: Victoria Park

• Wolseley 14–60
• Wolseley 16-65 A 4/50 tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1950 had a top speed of 70.7 mph and could accelerate from 0-60 mph in 30.3 seconds. A fuel consumption of 27.0 mpgimp was recorded. The test car cost £703 including taxes.

Sales volumes were only a third those of the car's six-cylinder sibling. The car was regarded as heavy, with "good use of the excellent gear-box" being needed to maintain a respectable pace. The Wolseley 4/50 was more upmarket and expensive than the Morris Oxford MO. The engine used was a 4-cylinder version of the 6/80. The pistons and doors were of very few common parts used in this range of cars. The snub-nose styling distinguishes it from the long elegant bonnet of the 6/80 re.

File:X Wolseley 4-50 side.jpg|Wolseley 4/50 - side File:Wolseley 4-50 rear.jpg|Wolseley 4/50 - rear

Wolseley 6/80

25,281 made

• Wolseley 21
• Wolseley 25

To accommodate its larger six-cylinder engine, the 6/80 was 7 in longer than the 4/50. It also had larger brakes with 10 in drums compared with the 9 in ones of the 4/50.

Wolseley had needed to produce a new postwar engine, and turned to their own past experience adapting designs drawn from an aero engine called the Wolseley Viper V8 that started life in WWI aircraft, latterly the Bristol SE5a, to which there is a visual similarity, the engine appearing quite vintage even for the day. However the formula worked for there's no doubt the 'six eighty' made a lot of money for Lord Nuffield's corporation, and was the longest ever running favourite of Police forces who seemed to retain cars well into the 1960s when they were a favourite for skid pan and mechanical training. They are even today recognised as the iconic period British police car.|Postwar Vintage Marques that enraptured the public. Old Motor R.1999 }}

A 6/80 tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1951 had a top speed of 85.3 mph and could accelerate from 0–60 mph in 21.4 seconds. A fuel consumption of 21.8 mpgimp was recorded. The test car cost £767 including taxes. An Autocar magazine road test of an apparently similar car managed a top speed of only 78.5 mph and slightly slower acceleration on a windy day a couple of years earlier. The testers noted that "in keeping with [the manufacturer's] policy which has much to commend it to a discerning motorist, the Wolseley is quite high geared", which made for relaxed cruising at (by the standards of the time) speed, but a more urgent driving style involved extensive use of the gearbox. Standard equipment included a heater, a rear window blind and "twin roof lamps in the rear compartment".

A second-hand car review published in England in 1960 observed that "even the most junior member of the family" would recognise the Wolseley 6/80 as the "Cops' Car" both on television, and on the streets. The car was reckoned to offer a good power-to-weight ratio in combination with steering and suspension sufficiently robust to permit it to be "thrown around without detriment to the car and with little discomfort to the occupants".

Gallery

File:Wolseley_6-80_side.jpg|Wolseley 6/80 - side File:Wolseley_6-80_rear.jpg|Wolseley 6/80 - rear

References

References

1. Sedgwick, M.. (1986). "A-Z of Cars 1945–1970". Bay View Books.
2. BMC-Leyland Australia Heritage Group, Building Cars in Australia, 2012, page 38
3. Culshaw. (1974). "Complete Catalogue of British Cars". Macmillan.
4. (27 December 1950). "The Wolseley Four-Fifty". [[The Motor (magazine).
5. (April 1960). "Second Hand car guide supplement". Practical Motorist.
6. Postwar Vintage Marques that enraptured the public. Old Motor R.1999
7. (28 February 1950). "The Wolseley Six-Eighty". [[The Motor (magazine).
8. (9 September 1949). "Wolseley Six Eighty Saloon (road test)". [[Autocar (magazine).