THE 1953 ROYAL TOUR HUMBER SUPER SNIPE MK.IV DROPHEAD

Lancaster’s Car Club manager Stephanie Hoy recently visited the Isle of Man Motor Museum, where she encountered one of the most exclusive vehicles to wear the Humber badge – the 1953 Super Snipe Mk. IV drophead built for the Royal Tour of the Commonwealth.

The Tour commenced on the 24^th November 1953 in Bermuda. The Queen and Prince Phillip arrived in Australia on the 3^rd February, and over the next 58 days, they visited 57 towns and cities. The authorities used some 116 vehicles, including Land Rovers, Holden FJs, Ford Customlines, 16 Daimlers and various Humbers, but it was the open-top Super Snipe that attracted the most attention.

Humber launched Mk. IV in October of 1952, with a longer bonnet and boot distinguishing the Super Snipe from its four-cylinder Hawk stablemate. The engine was a 4.1-litre six-cylinder ‘Blue Riband’ unit used by Commer Commercial Vehicles, while the publicity modestly boasted of “Power with Pedigree” and “Comfort beyond Compare.” The Rootes Group PR department devised a plan for Stirling Moss to drive the new Humber from Oslo to Lisbon in 90 hours; he achieved this goal with only a minute to spare. On the 26^th November 1952, George Hinchliffe drove his Super Snipe from London to Cape Town, covering 10,500 miles in just 13 days, 9 hours and 6 minutes.

In other words, the Super Snipe was a vehicle of excellent durability, with a ‘Blue Riband’ engine that was flexible enough for parade duties and possessed sufficient power in reserve for any potential emergency. The Jones Brothers of Kilburn were responsible for the coachwork of the Royal Tour Humber and they added folding B-pillars and a division. Additional equipment included an 8-valve radio with controls for rear seat occupants, a communication system, and elaborate heating and ventilation with two electric fans for the back seat. In addition, the coachbuilder relocated the trafficators to the front wings.

The Humber’s upholstery was fawn nylon covering fawn leather, while the Duke of Edinburgh apparently specified pull-out blinds fitted to the division’s rear. This was to prevent sunburn on the Royal limbs. When Andrew English of The Telegraph tested the Super Snipe, he reported it “leaves you with the impression that royal chauffeurs must have been tiny. This conversion maximised rear leg room at the expense of a front bench seat so far forward that you are virtually on top of the big steering wheel.”

The Rootes Group despatched eight Humbers to various ports of call of the Commonwealth Tour. In addition, the BBC commissioned four Super Snipe Estates to serve as mobile recording units on the Tour, providing the marque with more favourable publicity. The Royal drophead remained in Australia and on the 23^rd June 1954, Mentone Railway Garage offered readers of The Age a very exclusive vehicle. The “Royal Tour Humber Cabriolet Used By HM Queen Elizabeth II” was surely a car of greater prestige than the “Ford Prefect Sedan, 1949”, selling for £365 on the same page.

Denis Cunningham, the founder of the Motor Museum, discovered the Humber on eBay in 2007, and today it looks fit for another Royal Tour. And as the 70^th anniversary of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II approaches, we are delighted to pay tribute to this remarkable car -

With Thanks To - Isle of Man Motor Museum