1951 Wolseley 6/80
Civilian examples of the Wolseley 6/80 are considerably harder to find than police-specification survivors, making this maroon four-door saloon an uncommon proposition.
Of the 25,281 built between 1948 and 1954, the Metropolitan Police alone is thought to have taken more than 2,000 (with some estimates higher), and many county forces followed suit, leaving private buyers’ cars in the minority among what survives today.
The 6/80 debuted at the 1948 Earls Court Motor Show as one of the Nuffield Organisation’s first all-new postwar models.
Its rounded, upright body shared its basic structure with the Morris Six MS, but the Wolseley received the more polished treatment: twin SU carburetors feeding the 2.2-liter (2,215 cc) overhead-camshaft inline-six, a polished wood dashboard, leather seating, and the marque’s signature illuminated grille badge.
The overhead-camshaft engine traced its lineage to prewar Wolseley designs developed under the influence of Hispano-Suiza engineering principles rather than being a direct aero-engine derivative.
Period road tests recorded a top speed of around 80 mph, with 0-60 mph in roughly 21 to 22 seconds. Curb weight was approximately 3,100 pounds (1,406 kg).
Inside, the 6/80 offered a four-speed column-shift gearbox and torsion bar front suspension, with an interior appointed to a standard well above most British saloons at the price (qualities that appealed equally to the discerning private buyer and the fleet procurement officer).
Source
