Armstrong-Siddeley Sapphire Classic Cars for Sale

Sapphire was a name used by the British company, Armstrong Siddeley, on its turbojet engine. The name was given to the new model launched at the 1952 London motor show. The Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire brand existed between 1952 and 1960. It was a large saloon automobile with a distinctive V-shaped radiator, which was winged with an Armstrong Siddeley sphinx motif. 

The History of Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire

The whole new model of Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire was presented late in 1952 for 1953 market. It had an advanced engine design,which was developed between 120bhp and 150bhp and hemispherical combustion chambers. The Sapphire was introduced with a choice of synchromesh and preselector gearboxes. Though, its automatic version was released in 1954.

The Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire 234 and 236

In 1956, the smaller models of 234 and 236 were introduced as a replacement for the discontinued 16/18HP cars. These two models were identical in appearance, but were sold with different engines because they had varied performance features. The Sapphire 234 was made between 1955 and 1958 and used four-cylinder 2,290 cc version with a manual transmission of four-speed gearbox as well as an optional overdrive. The Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire 236 was made between 1955 and 1957, using the six-cylinder 2,310 cc engine with a conventional manual gearbox.

The new Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire

The new 3455 cc ohv six-cylinder engine was built for the Sapphire based on work by Fred Allard and W. Bentley. Another version of 4.0-litre version of the same engine was given to the Star Sapphire in 1958, and the original engine was copied by Humber for their 1958 Super Snipe. The sedan version of the Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire which had the pre-selector gearbox as standard was available from 1959. However, the model had an optional 4-speed manual column-change gearbox. In late 1958 to 1960, the Star Sapphire replaced the Sapphire models. The six-cylinder engine was enlarged to 3990 cc with double Zenith carburettors as standard with a Borg Warner type of automated gearbox. The sedan version of Star Sapphire was created in 1960 only, and had manual gear box with only 12 sedan fitted with automated gearbox and one carburettor engine.  In 1960, the production ended when Armstrong Siddeley decided to concentrate on aircraft manufacture and pulled out of car business completely. For the period of 1952-1960, 8568 cars in the Sapphire family were produced. 

Other Information about the Model

The Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire 234, 236 and 346 had an output between 120 and 150, giving a top speed of 161 km/h with fuel consumption of about 15.1 L/ 100km, could accelerate from 97km/h in less than 14.0 seconds. The Star Sapphire had a top speed of 160.3 km/h and could accelerate from 97km/h in less than 15.0 seconds. Its fuel consumption was 18.3 L/100km.