1934 Talbot AW75/AV105 Alpine Team Car Replica
Chassis number: 34367
Registration Number: BGT 107
As a Swiss, Talbot Chief Engineer, Georges Roesch, designed his cars with Alpine motoring in mind. With their combination of a strong and powerful push-rod six cylinder engine, powerful brakes, light and accurate steering and a compact, light yet sturdy chassis it is no surprise that Talbots excelled in the Alpine Trials of the 1930s, then undoubtedly the foremost long distance rally and an incredible test for both car and driver. Coupled with their successes at Le Mans, Ards and Brooklands the Talbot AV105 was clearly the most effective British sporting car of its size in the period. These successes culminated in the 1934 Alpine Trial where the famed Talbot Team of specially bodied and prepared cars, registered BGH 21, 22 and 23, got through this most arduous of events without loosing a single mark. This success has been echoed today and Talbots have been hugely successful in rallies such as the Flying Scotsman, 1000 Mile Trial, Alpine Trial and countless others.
As such we are pleased to offer this example, which we have known and been involved with for many years and which unlike many replicas of the famed ‘BGH’ Team cars is based on almost the best possible starting point a 1934 Talbot AW75 chassis, identical to the AV105 aside from narrow front springs and brake shoes.
The Talbot Sales Ledgers show that ‘BGT’ started life as a Darracq bodied Sports Saloon and was delivered to its first owner in June of 1934. Little is known of this cars history until the 1980s when founder of our sister restoration business Talbot specialists I.S. Polson- Ian Polson was contacted by a farmer in the charmingly named Somerset village of Hazelbury Plucknett. To say he had a farm trailer which was based upon a Roesch Talbot of some kind and would he like to come and buy it. Having made the long trip south-west from Suffolk Ian was able to deduce it was an AW75 rolling chassis with various other parts intact, which had been cut in half and telescoped inwards to shorten it for use as a trailer, having agreed to buy it, the farmer was then able to find the original buff logbook, which showed the original number to be ‘BGT 107’- on the car to this day.
Once the car was back in the workshop Ian was able to deduce that the chassis was complete and so welds just needed to be undone to reverse the telescoping process and bring the complete original chassis back to the correct original 9ft 6” length. Having made the decision to convert it to an Alpine Team Car Replica, Ian did little more to the car until selling it to Midlands based hillclimber John Elliot, I.S. Polson completed the restoration of the car for Elliot to be an exacting copy of a BGH Alpine Trial Team Car, as accurate as possible in all details and fitting it with the correct 3-litre engine to AV105 specification.
The restoration was completed in 1994 and Elliot used the car for a few years before selling it on to John Hill who continued to hillclimb and use ‘BGT’ enthusiastically on the road. Hill was to keep the car for around 15 years before ill health forced him to sell the car onto Ian Montgomery, who enthusiastically rallied the car before passing it onto the current owner in 2017.
A great fan of pre War rallying he bought it knowing that the 1934 Talbot AV105 Alpine Trial Team Cars were the ultimate British pre War rally car and wanted to ensure it was to the best specification possible to be competitive on evets such as the Flying Scotsman, Alpine Trial, Shamrock and the 1000 Mile Trial. With this in mind the car was sent to Pace Products whose Talbot engines have proved ultra-competitive on events such as the Flying Scotsman as well as on the race track at Goodwood and Le Mans Classic, to be fitted with the best possible fast road specification engine to make the most effective rally car possible. This engine was virtually completely new incorporating new cylinder block, cylinder head, sump and all new internals at a cost of £57,000, at the same point the cars preselector gearbox was rebuilt by leading Specialist Cecil Schumacher to ensure it was up to handling the torque of this new engine, the rear axle was also rebuilt at around this time, see invoices on file. All of this work was finished in 2019 and the owner was able to enjoy the car on the Shamrock and Three Castle Rallys, along with some more gentle road use.
Since then the car has benefitted from rebuilt wheels with alloy rims and further very recent work by I.S. Polson to the body, paintwork, chassis, brakes, suspension, and carburation to get the car in the best shape possible for further rallying, see bills on file totalling circa £16,000.
Only offered for sale because the owners advancing years mean he no longer feels comfortable with the rigours of pre War rallying. ‘BGT’ will offer a new owner an example of the most effective all round pre War British rally car, which has benefitted from a great deal of recent work and expense to make it the most competitive rally package possible, since which point it has seen little use, as such it is undoubtedly a potential rally winner in the right hands.