The 10hp Ford Eifel.
In the UK during the 1930s, Ford's small-car offerings were on sale with either 8hp or 10hp four cylinder sidevalve engines installed beneath their bonnets. In the mid/late 1930s, the 10hp car was called the Model C, later revised slightly to become the CX which lasted in production until 1937. Survivors of either version, whether in saloon or tourer form, are hardly common sightings nowadays. Even rarer, here at least, is the Ford Eifel, a product of Ford Germany's factory, based on the C/CX.
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The origins of the car's bodywork are clearly C/CX, at least from the screen rearwards. Where things differ significantly is around the front end, the Eifel shown here sporting a style reminiscent of the larger V8 saloon, in smaller scale. A much wider variety of closed and open-top variants were offered, when compared to the UK car, and production lasted from 1935 to 1940, outliving the Model C by several months. Examples were also built in Hungary, Spain, and Australia. The car shown below, a two-door saloon, was photographed by site visitor Leo, in Utrecht, during a cycling trip undertaken in 1958.
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Period photographs of the Dagenham-built Model C may be found on this page, while the CX can be seen here. Another obvious difference is the choice of wheel fitted to the cars. The British car sports a good-looking set of spoked wheels, while the Eifel has "Easiclean" steel rims - of a different style to those typically found on other pre- and post-war sit-up-and-beg Fords. These wheels, and the V8-inspired grille, were introduced to the Eifel in 1937, establishing that this is a late- rather than early-production car.
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Below is a catalogue view of the two-door saloon, or as it was known in its home country, the Eifel Limusine 5/34 PS.
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Thanks for sending this photo over. If anyone else has period photo of cars like this, and is willing to see them published at OldClassicCar, please drop me a line via the contact page, thanks.
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Return to Page 18 in the photographic archive, or visit the main index of images here.
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