Solved NIC#1399 - SAS Special of Frank Cuttell

[nicanary]

I'm afraid I don't know much about this car, but there's a point for anyone who can name it.

[D-type]

British?

[nicanary]

British?

It is based on a British car, yes,

[D-type]

Was the car built in Australia?

[nicanary]

Was the car built in Australia?

Yes, based on an imported GB car.

[nicanary]

Pros?

[ropat53]

ERA based?

[nicanary]

ERA based?

No.

[ropat53]

Riley?

[nicanary]

Riley?

No.

[Allan L]

Let's try narrowing it down a bit - was the original GB car made in Coventry?

[nicanary]

Let's try narrowing it down a bit - was the original GB car made in Coventry?

The company headquarters was in Coventry.

[Allan L]

Well that leaves a lot of well-known makes. We've had Riley so perhaps it has an Alvis

[nicanary]

Well that leaves a lot of well-known makes. We've had Riley so perhaps it has an Alvis

Not a Riley. The base car is rather unexpected.

[Allan L]

If the origin is unexpected, it can't be Alvis. . .
I'll go through my list of Coventry motor marques in alphabetical order so, just for completeness, I'll offer Armstrong-Siddeley. . .

[nicanary]

If the origin is unexpected, it can't be Alvis. . .
I'll go through my list of Coventry motor marques in alphabetical order so, just for completeness, I'll offer Armstrong-Siddeley. . .

And that's it! It's pictured at the Philip Island Historic meeting and captioned simply as 1936 Armstrong-Siddeley supercharged. I can find nothing about it on my search engine.

[Allan L]

That is unexpected indeed!
Some of the A-S engines were pretty powerful and there were many sizes available in the 1930s - do you know the size here?
Until a couple of years ago I had a usefully knowledgable Australian contact who would have known more about this racing car, but he's died.

[nicanary]

Sorry, I know nothing more.

[nicanary]

Thanks to the contacts of Allan L I have now found out more about this car. It was built about 10 years ago by Frank Cuttell of Newcastle, NSW using the engine from a 1936 Armstrong Siddeley (unknown model) with altered breathing and a rear-mounted supercharger. The builder has passed away and the car is now in the USA.

It was known as the SAS Special and I have amended the puzzle title.