The H.E. was a high-quality fast touring car built in small numbers from 1919 to 1931 by Herbert Engineering Co. Ltd. of Wolsey Road, Caversham, Reading. The company was formed by Herbert Merton to repair aero engines during World War I.
After the war, he introduced the H.E. car, designed by the engineer Roland Sully. The first examples had conventional four-cylinder side-valve engines, and in 1923 an article praised the improved car seen at the Olympia show, with four-wheel braking and aluminium cylinder head. the H.E. offered strong performance and handsome sporting bodywork, albeit at considerable cost; low production volumes meant that they sold in the early 1920s for little less than a Bentley.
In 1927 H.E. added a six-cylinder model to the range: the 2.3-litre 16/55 HP. This was joined in 1929 by the short-chassis 16/60hp Sports model in our Snapshot, with triple carburettors and close-ratio gearbox that made it good for 80 mph. Only three such Sports models are believed to have been made, out of a total of 61 six-cylinder 2.3-litre cars.
Contemporary H.E. advertisements boasted: “The best of British Sixes of exceptional design whereby the greatly desired features of a semi-sporting car are linked with the luxury and silky running of a town carriage”. The company also offered a five-year guarantee, which must have caused a problem when the company closed in 1931.
This car is thought to be the sole surviving Sports model. In the mid-1950s it was taken by its owner Major Woolston to New York, from where he drove it across the USA, covering 5,000 trouble-free miles. The car then returned to the Phoenix Garage at Hartley Wintney (the birthplace of the VSCC) where it was kept behind the pub. It was restored from the 1990s onwards, to superb running and cosmetic condition.
Despite the limited number of these cars built, one was tested by Motor Sport, the report appearing in its February 1930 issue. After a preamble praising the use of a small-capacity six-cylinder engine to achieve lively performance and smooth running, the report mentioned effortless cruising at 60 mph and a projected maximum of 80 mph under favourable conditions, a light clutch, an excellent gearbox and light Marles steering. The brakes, however, were found to be heavy, but production cars were to be fitted with a vacuum servo system (something that our Snapshot car has to this day), so improvement was expected. The report sums the vehicle up as a “long distance car”, mentioning pneumatic upholstery throughout and sufficient room for the comfort of rear passengers.
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