The Nizam of Hyderabad's Collection of Cars and Carriages

[DKG]

The Nizam 's Rolls Royce Silver Ghost makes news in 1913 in New York:

100390950.pdf

[Julian UK]

Originally Posted by DKG

Julian any leads on identifying the correct model and year based on the chassis numbers?

I have written and sent the photos to the Registrar of the Napier Club who holds the Napier factory records for 1900-1924, which were saved when Napiers at Acton closed in 1961. Hopefully we'll get details of all the Nizam's Napiers and any others that came to India. I will post whatever I get.

I found this list of Wolseley-Siddeleys in this book on Armstrong Siddeleys but the Nizam's car surprisingly isn't listed in the "Interesting owners" list:
Armstrong Siddeley Motors: The Cars ... - Google Book Search

[Julian UK]

From the Napier Factory records the 2 Napiers in the Nizam's collection are:
1906 Napier Type L76 #1178 40hp (actual 38.4hp) delivered to the coachbuilders on 29.6.06
1906 Napier Type L76 #1181 40hp (actual 38.4hp) delivered to the coachbuilders on 14.07.06


Further info on the coachwork and hopefully photos of the other Nizam Napiers will follow. It would be interesting to know what exactly the Nizam and SF Edge had for lunch that resulted in the purchase of six cars. Only 5 came to India, one remained in the UK, had its body built in 1912, and a second body built in the 60s.

[PVS]

Wow that's an amazing thread DKG; great to see all these amazing cars. Thanks for sharing with us.

[DKG]

Thanks a ton Julian, knew you would sort that out! The Fiat and the Wolseley are yet to be correctly identified.

Thank you once again for so promptly helping in getting the details of the Napiers. Manvendra Singh's book has one other Napier's picture.

I've come across some very interesting snippets from books written about Napiers. Will post the references, might be easier for you Julian to access these books in a library close to you, as I doubt I'd find them in any library here. One piece mentions a lot of four cars was delivered to the Nizam

[v12]

Since BMW owns Rolls Royce now, a BMW dealership in Hyrerabad can take up the responsibility of importing the parts for these cars (RR's) and assisting withe the restoration. The owner in return can allow the BMW guys to display the restored cars in their showrooms for breif periods.

The restored cars can also be rented out to other automobile dealerships across the country at a good price. Although transporting these cars could be a risky affair.

[DKG]

Julian some interesting stuff that came up while searching the net. This is from the google books site. What is interesting is there's reference to these cars in US trade reports. Now Napiers were also built in the US. Was it that some of the Nizam's cars were shipped out of the US? I have also come across the coachbuilding name of Cunard. Any light on this? The following references are very interesting should we get our hands on them in libraries. Note the last ref which speaks of a lot of four cars being dispatched to the Nizam




The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile - Page 1100

by G. N. Georgano - Transportation - 2000 - 1792 pages
1910 Napier 40hp Purdah Wagon for the Nizam of Hyderabad.




Daily Consular and Trade Reports

by United States Bureau of Manufactures, United States Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce - Consular reports - 1911
Page 45
A motor-car dealer of Madras has just imported a 6-cylinder 120- horsepower Napier touring car for His Highness the Nizam of Hyderabad.




Historical Motor Scrapbook - Page 103

by Floyd Clymer - Automobiles, Foreign - 1955
1907 His Highness The Nizam of Hyderabad. after testing many of the leading
British and Foreign motor cars, selected the six- cylinder Napier, as being most



Men and Machines: A History of D. Napier & Son, Engineers, Ltd., 1808-1958 - Page 91

by Charles Wilson, William Reader, William Joseph Reader - Engineering - 1968 - 187 pages
... were united in owning Napier cars. Across the Atlantic, J. Pier- pont Morgan
was a customer: in India, HEH the Nizam and a whole pride of other princes. ...


Automotive Industries - Page 710

Aeronautics - 1969
The Napier firm has probably devoted more time and attention to this type of car than any other maker, and for 1907 no others than the six-cylinder cars




A History of Sports Cars - Page 44

by G. N. Georgano - Sports cars - 1970 - 320 pages
... and 'Napier Racing Cars, designed for 5 part in competition'. ... of whom the
Nizam of Hyderabad was the most The introduction of the Rolls-Royce Silver ...

Motor Sport

Automobiles - 1958
Page 439
On the same day a fine selection of old Napier cars, numbering 14, ... Green's 1907 Sixty tourer which was supplied originally to the Nizam of Hyderabad, ...

The Auto: The Motorist's Pictorial

edited by Stanley Spooner - Automobiles - 1906
Page 1669
Above we are now able to give a photograph of four of the Napier cars which have
been dispatched to the Nizam. The two top cars are respectively for HRH's ...

[DKG]

An interesting note on the role of S.F. Edge in promoting Napier cars and the American connection (article sourced from Brighton-Early : Napier)

NAPIER of AMERICA

The respected precision engineering firm of D Napier & Son had been in business in Lambeth, South London, for nearly one hundred years before Montague Napier, grandson of the founder, made his first motor car engines in 1899. The firm converted the Panhard-Levassor of S F Edge from tiller to wheel steering and fitted it with a Napier engine and Edge came to figure large in the Napier motorcar story. He made an agreement with Napier that he would take all of the firm's output providing he had exclusive rights. Edge vigorously promoted Napier cars, bombarding the press with letters, engaging in publicity stunts, and taking part in motoring competitions of all sorts, including racing.
Early motor races only took part on the continent and in America as racing on public roads in Britain was illegal. Napier and Wolseley were the only British companies that regularly took part in European competitions in the early days. The most important event in the motor sport calendar became the Gordon Bennett Trophy race. It was run annually in conjunction with a town to town race but the competing cars represented their country of origin. When Edge won the Trophy in 1902 it was a triumph for him, Napier and Britain. There was a surge in demand for Napiers and a large new factory was built on a 'green field site' in Acton, West London.
The next Napier initiative was to introduce for 1904 a six-cylinder motorcar to its range of models. Despite Edge's claims, Napier did not invent the six-cylinder engine, nor was it the first firm to use one for a motorcar, but it was the first to make the six-cylinder car a commercial success. A 'Noiseless Napier' rapidly became the English car to own and it was some years before Rolls-Royce eclipsed this position.
Whatever their merits, British cars did not sell well in continental Europe. In a search for a wider market Napier opened an American factory in Boston in 1904 to circumvent the American tax of 45% of the purchase price on complete imported motorcars. Napier parts were exported, thus attracting a much lower tariff, assembled in Boston and had locally-made bodies fitted.
They were then able to compete on price with the finest American makes. However, unlike its English activities the operation was only a limited success and was wound up in 1912. In the same year Napier bought out Edge's rights and the diversification of its engineering activities was continued; the success of the Napier Lion aero engine during and after the Great War pointing the way forward.
Motorcar manufacture was ended in 1924 and after years of making a range of outstanding aero engines Napier was taken over by English Electric in 1945, eventually becoming a division of Rolls-Royce in 1962.

[Julian UK]

Not getting too much success from the links apart from the first one..
We have ID on the 2 surviving Napiers, other previous Napiers are pending, the other cars are in the process, it will take a little time, they have sat there for 70 years, identification will take at least a few days.. Stay tuned.

[DKG]

Originally Posted by Julian UK

Not getting too much success from the links apart from the first one..

Yes I think we need a subscription to access more info. I posted these just so we know some source material that exists on the subject. I doubt if libraries here in Hyderabad will have these, perhaps you could be luckier should you find time to visit one in England.

Travancore would it be possible to access some of these in a university library close to you?

[Julian UK]

I can order them from the British library but there is already a list of a dozen RR/Bentley books I have ordered. It is going to take time.The British library has most books that have ever been published, but to access them in my local library takes a couple of months, but they do come. Every book I order costs them £56 in courier charges to transfer between libraries. The resevation charge to me is only 75p.

[DKG]

Originally Posted by Julian UK

The British library has most books that have ever been published

You know Julian this reminds me once about someone telling me that one of the best places to research Indian history was England!! This may be true of art too.

[Julian UK]

Originally Posted by DKG

You know Julian this reminds me once about someone telling me that one of the best places to research Indian history was England!! This may be true of art too.

And also about the best place to find British colonial exotic automobile history is in India?

[DKG]

Julian, i think you will like this one. Do please help me in finding out what bike this is. It had a cage fitted in place of a side car. In all probability this bike was used by the kitchen to fetch chickens from the market!

[the mole]

hmm intresting could it be a premier?