What's the history of the Railton Fairmile and how many were produced?

Question

Accepted Answer

The Railton Fairmile has a fascinating history! Railton was a British automobile marque produced by the Fairmile Engineering Company in Cobham, Surrey between 1933 and 1940. The company was founded by Noel Macklin, who wanted to create high-performance cars with English coachwork at affordable prices.

The key innovation was using American Hudson Terraplane chassis and engines (4,168cc 8-cylinder units) combined with British coachwork - making them the first cars to combine English bodies with American running gear. Most Fairmiles used these powerful 8-cylinder engines, though from 1936 they also offered smaller 6-cylinder options for lower tax brackets.

The Fairmile was available in various body styles including drophead coupes, saloons, and tourers, with coachwork from several independent builders. The cars were known for their impressive performance, with some models achieving 0-60 mph in 8.8 seconds - making them among the fastest production cars of their era.

As for production numbers, approximately 1,379 Railton 8-cylinder cars were made in total before production ceased due to WWII. Additionally, around 50 of the smaller 10hp 'Little Fairmile' models were produced in 1938-1939 based on Standard Flying Nine chassis. When you include all models, fewer than 1,400 Railtons were ever built, making them exceptionally rare today.

The 1935 Fairmile Series I you were asking about represents one of these rare survivors from this exclusive British marque! Would you like me to help you find similar classic British sports saloons or learn more about other vehicles from this era?

Lot 9179: 1935 Railton Fairmile

Classic cars

Cars for sale

Resources

Lot 9179: 1935 Railton Fairmile

Become a CLASSIC Insider