My 1960s Mk1 Humber Sceptre - the coolest daily British classic car?!

The Humber Sceptre was introduced in 1963, and it was initially meant to come in as a replacement for the Sunbeam Rapier. This is why it’s not just a saloon, but instead, a sporting saloon with quite the dash to accompany the sporting promise.

However, this car didn’t end up replacing the Rapier and instead, the Rapier continued in the range until 1967 - but we’ve only just recently discussed how Citroen kept the 2CV running alongside the Dyane - this idea of not ditching the outgoing model wasn’t unique to Rootes.

When I bought this car, I had a couple of people essentially telling me it wasn’t a real Humber because it was too closely related to the Super Minx and didn’t embody the traditional Humber values of being sensible and serious.

However, that could be disputed, because the Humber Sceptre isn’t a lazily rebadged Super Minx; it has different controls and many brilliant features such as disc brakes, fully reclining seats, little touches like the suit hanger hook in the back and a very different dash. There are also many other unique elements such as the roof, glass and rear and upper bodywork.

As for the sensible and serious undertones, it feels a sensible car with a cheeky undertone - which is exactly what you’d expect from a sporting saloon. Humber was also known for quality and keen attention to detail and think that is evident in not only the design but the lack of wear in the high traffic areas and on the seats - so perhaps whilst the values have been challenged, the core value of quality is very much still apparent.

And if you’re wondering why there was a badge engineering element and it wasn’t a completely new design, look no further than the troubles Rootes had faced in the late 50s early 60s. At the beginning of the 60s they held just over 10% of market share and had been battered by outside factors such as the strike at British Light Steel Pressings and the downturn in vehicle sales nationwide.

Now back to the car itself.

If you look at a brochure, these careful considerations translated into a lot of motoring potential for the 1965 price of £1000, which by the way, was roughly the same as two of BMCs Minis.

As a new Sceptre owner you could look forward to enjoying as standard many features other motorists were paying extra for such as:

Diaphragm spring clutch for less pedal effort.
Overdrive as standard, which I’ll demo for you later
Built in heating and ventilation - you might consider this an essential, but even Morris had customers paying extra into the 60s for this basic function
An elegant suspension system for a masterly ride, or in more technical terms terms, fully independent front suspension employing coil springs and swinging links. Suspension control by Armstrong telescopic shock absorbers housed neatly down the centre of each coil spring. To rear, semi elliptic leaf springs with Armstrong double acting telescopic shock absorbers to allegedly, maintain adequate control in all weather conditions.
A really key point actually which I think supersedes many of the extras, there are no greasing points, a huge plus point for a car of this area.
Steering - Burman recirculating ball type on this one. It’s three piece symmetrical track-rod linkage with nylon inserts and sealed ball joints - which again - needed no regular greasing like many other counterparts on the market.
Wider opening doors and child locks - perfect for comfort and also, for getting children in and out and ensuring they don’t eject themselves on the way to the chosen destination
Plus many more delicate touches which add quality such as the little lock covers on the door handles and boot handles, fully reclining seats, two speed wipers, a trip clock, a lit glovebox for finding snacks and maps after dark, ashtrays and arm rests to rear, a suit hook to rear and possibly one of my favourite design features, the spare wheel stored outside the car under the boot to give the owner full boot space potential and easy access should a puncture occur on a journey.

The engine in this is the 1600 - which seems to be overlooked by some in favour of the 1725cc. However, in this car we have tested it fully loaded up with four adults and we were easily keeping up with traffic on the motorway without straining the engine and with plenty left in the car to give. Why ask for more?!

The MK1 is my favourite of all the Sceptres but less than 18,000 were made and they were only made for two years before being replaced with the MK2 in 1965 - which makes this a late MK1.

Definitely one of the most special cars I've ever owned, this is the Humber Sceptre.