Present & correct

This one-off Wolseley was created as a gift for the company's saviour by his own employees, and it heralded a run of rare production models

- SIMON HUCKNALL

The message engraved on a plaque screwed to the dashboard of this Wolseley 25 Drophead Coupé says as much about post-war societal changes as it does the historical importance of this car: 'Presented to the Rt Hon Lord Nuffield as a token of gratitude and admiration by the Workpeople and Staff of Wolseley Motors Ltd. With every good wish. X'mas 1937: Gushing and cap-doffing it may sound by today's standards, but more than 80 years ago, the esteem in which Wolseley's chief was held really did inspire his employees to fund and present him with this very car.

It was no ordinary 25, either. When Wolseley workers handed their chairman the car's keys on 23 December of that year, the 25 wasn't even catalogued in the company's brochures; Lord Nuffield was in effect gifted a one-off. Whether it was, in reality, a working prototype for the future 25 Drophead Coupé model line, no one is quite sure. Either way, the Wolseley 25 dhc did reach limited production four months later, in spring 1938 - although perhaps not built to the same exacting standards as the highly original example we're driving today.