1966 Wolseley Heinz Hornet Convertible 1 of 57 built by Crayford.

In 1966 Heinz Foods Ltd held a competition for the chance to win one of 57 very special cars. Crayford Engineering was commissioned by Heinz Foods to specially produce 57 convertible versions of the Wolseley Hornet. Half of the cars were Toga White and half were Birch Grey. The cars were all supplied with special extras including picnic set, radio, electric kettle, tartan rug and even a sliding Max Factor make-up tray under the dash panel. These cars were totally unique to the competition. All were first registered LLH ***D to Heinz Foods.

There is a Heinz 57 Register which has details of the surviving cars. Please see http://www.crayfordconvertibleclub.com/heinz-57-prize-cars/the-heinz-57-story.html http://www.crayfordconvertibleclub.com/heinz-57-prize-cars/the-prize-car-register.html

LLH 853D was won in the competition by Mrs Wyn Foot who lived near Southampton, it was Mrs Foot's one and only car, she learnt to drive in it and had it all her life. The car has never been fully restored but has had sympathetic maintenance over the years including new front wings and sills whilst in the Foot family ownership. When she passed away her family kept it until 2004 when her daughter sold it to the present owner.

We are informed by the vendor that the car fires up without hesitation from cold and settles to a smooth tick over. The road manners are impeccable with sharp, precise steering and a gearbox that's positive and tight, the engine pulls well in every gear and likewise the brakes do a great job pulling the car up smartly in a straight line, so this charming little car is a pleasure to drive. It's lovely to see that the hard to find illuminated bulb on the end of the wand like indicator stalk is still in place and working perfectly to

We are informed that the car was on display at The Haynes Motor Museum in 2009 as part of the events celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Mini. The car remains in superb overall condition and is MOT'd until June 2014. It is sold complete with the special extras and a substantial history file including letters to Mrs Foot from Heinz Foods notifying her of her lucky win. There are also pictures of her being presented with the car, copies of competition entry forms, list of prize-winners, the old log book, newspaper cuttings etc in the history file. Very few of these Heinz Hornets have a full ownership history back to the original prize-winners as this one has, with its rarity value and transparent history file going back to day one we expect a huge amount of interest in this fascinating little motor car.