1936 Talbot BI105 Aero Coupe

Registration no. CVU 205

Chassis no. 4060

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 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 losing 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.

Roesch developed the 14/45 to produce the 75 and 90 models, the latter setting Talbot on the path towards renewed sporting success. 1931 saw the arrival of the 3.0-litre 105 powered by a new 'six' featuring staggered valves, a Roesch stratagem allowing for improved breathing. New for 1935 were a dropped cruciform chassis frame, this top-of-the-range model offered class-leading refinement and particular rigidity eliminating body flexing.

First registered on December 1st, 1936, chassis 4060 was supplied new to aircraft repair company, David Rosenfield Ltd of Barton, near Manchester. Bodied as a 4-door Sports Saloon by Talbots in house coachbuilder Darracq. Subsequently owned by Ronald Stoddart of High Beutham, Lancashire, the Talbot was rescued from barn storage by Mike Wood and Peter Plunket during 1995.

Decidedly tired and forlorn but complete and retaining its original engine, 'CVU 205' then passed to respected Talbot specialist Bill Barrott who in turn passed it onto long-term Talbot enthusiast William Balfour who commissioned him to transform it into a two-door fastback Coupe, taking inspiration from Gurney Nutting Coupe bodies of the late 1930s.

Being a keen user of his old cars and living in Scotland Mr Balfour wanted a sporting Talbot Grand Tourer that could cover serious mileage at high speed, whilst being warm enough to be useable in the at times inclement weather North of the border, but also not stifling hot in the summer.

Between Barrott and Balfour they came up with a shape which utilised the front doors, wings, bonnet, windscreen and spare wheel cover of the existing derelict 4-door Darracq saloon body, but completely re-modelled it as a 2-door Coupe. To achieve this and achieve greater agility the chassis was shortened to the Talbot AV105 length of 9 foot 6 inches, a huge amount of work was done by professional coachbuilders using traditional period correct wooden Ash framing and new panel work in aluminium to create the uniquely elegant shape of the Coupe. A photographic record of this most thorough work is on file. The interior trim was of completely renewed in the course of this work.

To give the car the necessary speed desired by Mr Balfour, the engine was uprated with modern crankshaft and connecting rods, shell bearings, all internals balanced, compression ratio raised and triple SU carburettors fitted. For longevity a full flow oil filter conversion was fitted and steel timing gears. At the same time all mechanical parts were rebuilt throughout- as evidenced by copious invoices on file for this and the almost all other work carried out during the build.

To achieve the desired comfort air-conditioning, heated screens, two speed windscreen wipers with washers were fitted. To cope with the added electrical demands an alternator was installed.

This work took place between 1997 and 2003, the total cost for this most thorough of builds was circa £109,000 and would undoubtedly be much more if carried out today.

Acquired by great Sunbeam and Talbot enthusiast Paul Wignall from William Balfour ‘CVU 205’ was in turn sold by him to John Keatley in 2006 . ‘CVU’ passed subsequently to Mark Robinson in 2013. During his ownership the car has been looked after for him by Scott Automotive and benefitted from an uprated preselector gearbox by Cecil Schumacher and many other subtle improvements and upgrades. Passing to the current owner in 2023 and now only offered for sale due to a change in circumstances. ‘CVU’ has covered a mere circa 12,000 miles since its most thorough rebuild and will offer the lucky new owner a most stylish and capable entry for long distance pre-War rallying or more relaxed high speed continental touring.