The high-speed, Sinclair service mystery

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Some time ago, while researching a book about the petrol trade in Holland, I found a picture of this stunning service van. While other fuel companies like A.P.C. (American Petrol Company, the present day Esso/Exxon) used modest T-Fords as a service van, the Sinclair Company had the luxurious use of a fast Renault 40 CV. Rumour has it that it was an ex-senior management car from the French main branch. The son of the driver (seen here at the wheel) remembers it as fast, very low and noisy as it was equipped with an 'exhaust cut out' for the open road. Yet it wasn't really suitable for Dutch roads with their many low hump bridges, which made the car often hit the ground. I wonder if this 40 CV with its unusual pointed tail is remembered by any amongst our readers? Could it have been modified by a local coachbuilder after its first life as a managers transport?

(Text Bas de Voogd, photo Renault courtesy Dick Otte)

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