Talbot 14/45 History

Arriving in 1927, the Talbot 14/45 was the first design by Swiss chief engineer Georges Roesch at the Kensington factory. Its 1,666 cc overhead-valve six-cylinder engine produced 45 bhp, giving a top speed of around 60 mph. A stiff cross-braced chassis and a novel combined starter-dynamo ('dynamotor') added refinement unusual for the period. Demand was immediate: the factory was producing around 50 cars a week by 1927.

The 14/45 formed the genetic basis for the entire Roesch Talbot family that followed. Roesch progressively enlarged and improved the engine, producing the related 75, 90, 105, and 110 models — all sharing the same fundamental overhead-valve six-cylinder architecture and the same commitment to high-revving refinement over brute force. The 14/45 remained in production in various forms through the early 1930s.