NINE BIRTHDAYS FOR WOLSELEY!
Marque devotees have plenty to celebrate in 2017
Wolseley enthusiasts will be celebrating significant birthdays for eight of the manufacturer’s classics – and the company itself – this year.
The best-selling Wolseley ever, the 1500, is celebrating its 60th anniversary. Launched alongside its Riley 1.5 sister car, 103,394 1500s were built before production finally ended in 1965.
Wolseley Motors Limited was first registered as a company in 1927, marking the culmination of determined bidding by William Morris, who bought the bankrupt company for £730,000, famously using his own money.
The Series III models – 12/48, Super Six 16hp, 21hp and 25hp – are celebrating their 80th anniversaries, having been launched at the Earls Court Motor Show in October 1937.
The Wolseley 1100 and 1300 MkII – and the Wolseley 18/85 variant of the Austin Morris 1800 ‘Landcrab’, also introduced in March 1967, at the Geneva Motor Show – each turn 50 this year.
All these anniversaries will be celebrated by the Wolseley Register during its Annual Rally at Belton House near Grantham, Lincolnshire, on 30 July, with 1500s taking pride of place.
The previous day will see cars driving through Lincolnshire on a morning visit to the historic Kinema in the Woods at Woodhall Spa and later the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre.
Wolseley Register spokesman Andrew McAdam says: ‘Everyone is welcome to come along, join in the fun and celebrate these great cars!’