Britain’s First 100 mph Car Celebrates Centenary

The Vauxhall 30-98, arguably one of the more significant sports cars of the 20th Century and the first to top 100 mph in production form, marked its centenary in style this May, when almost 50 surviving examples turned up for the UK’s Waddington Fell hillclimb, site of the car’s first appearance and competition success in 1913.

Described as “The car of grace that sets the pace,” the 30-98 was derived from Vauxhall’s C10 “Prince Henry”—acknowledged as the UK’s first true sports car—and was produced at a time when Vauxhall vied with Bentley in the prestige car market.