1966 Humber Sceptre Mk2 1725cc Saloon

Description

With a long history of building high quality cars aimed squarely at the middle classes, Humber was absorbed into the Rootes Group in 1930 and continued as the luxury marque alongside Hillman and Singer. The original Sceptre, launched in 1963, was essentially an upmarket version of the Hillman Super Minx with a conventional chassis, powered by a 1529cc four-cylinder engine with a light alloy cylinder head and twin Zenith carburettors. The American-influenced styling, described in the sales literature as both elegant and modern, was a classic Sixties blend of chrome, wings and the Sceptre was nicely appointed inside, with a well stocked dash featuring cowled gauges and contoured seats. With an output of 80 horsepower, the Sceptre had relatively spritely performance, aided by a four-speed gearbox with Laycock-de Normanville overdrive operating on third and top. Add in Lockheed front disc brakes and you have a recipe for luxury with a sporting flavour. In 1966 the Sceptre was comprehensively revamped, with a larger 1725cc engine and single Solex carburettor. The grille and headlamp treatment also came in for some revision - for a period it was intended the latest Sceptre would be badged a Sunbeam and replace the Rapier. The final of these 'Mark 2' Sceptres left the factory in 1967 and production figures suggest only 11,984 were made in this short period, making them relatively scarce today. Humbers were also built in Australia at the Port Melbourne factory, models usually released here several months after their UK launch, although the Sceptre was one model never assembled locally.