Hampton history
The Hampton marque had originated in Hampton-in-Arden in 1911 when William Paddon set up a motor sales business in the eponymous West Midlands village, offering light cars and motorcycles built to order. A series of bankruptcies and forced restructuring made it difficult for the company to survive. In 1930 Hampton’s credit with Meadows, its main supplier of engines, ran out. Hampton was faced with a serious problem. A small 4-cylinder engine of 1196cc was offered, possibly of Hampton’s own manufacture, while for its larger model it went to the German Röhr company, from which it ordered 100 2262cc straight-8 engines, and 50 chassis with independent suspension by double-transverse half-elliptic springs. In autumn 1930, an eight-cylinder Röhr rolling chassis had arrived at Hampton's factory at Dudbridge in Gloucestershire. William Milward, General Manager and director of Hampton Cars, and chief draughtsman Harry Baxter worked hard trying to adapt Röhr's advanced technology into a car suitable for the British market. The result being the prototype ‚Empire Sportsman saloon‘ registered 'GN 5599'. Hampton's bankruptcy in April 1931 effectively killed the project.
Puzzle car
The fallout from Hampton's 1931 bankruptcy saw William Milward walk away with most of the parts required to build a car for his own use, including the Röhr straight-eight engine from 'GN 5599'. The result was the puzzle car, which was constructed in the coach house at Milward's home, Blenheim House near Randwick, Gloucestershire. Attached to a ZF Aphon gearbox, the Röhr engine went into a conventional beam-axle chassis, while the car's four-seat tourer body was constructed in aluminium by former Hampton coachbuilder, Edgar Fowles. The Milward's kept the so called 'Hampton Milward Special 8 Cylinder', 18 HP until William's death in 1946.
