Detour #343: Three Counties, One Lightweight Sports Car, UK
Photo Nik Berg
In the space of just a few minutes it’s possible to drive through Worcestershire, Shropshire and Herefordshire.
It’s a fun idea in itself to zip through three English counties in quick succession, but even more so from behind the wheel of a locally-built lightweight sports car.
Tucked away near the church in the village of Bayton is The Pembleton Motor Company, purveyors of a brand new throwback to the 1930s. The T24 is a tribute to the cyclecars of the time, but with today’s build quality and a smattering of its technology.
It’s powered by an 850 cc V-twin motorcycle engine, sourced from Moto Guzzi, which drives the front wheels via a reconditioned gearbox from a Citroën 2CV. There’s only about 80bhp up for grabs but since the Pembleton weighs less than 400kg it’s very lively indeed.
Then there’s the total exposure to the elements – which today include bright sunshine and hail showers – which only enhances the sensation of speed. It’s a tiny thing, with barely room for two (although with surprisingly ample space for luggage) and that means that even the narrowest lanes seem to open up for the T24.
The A443 from Great Witley is only single carriageway, but there’s plenty of room to play in the Pembleton. Sections that might invoke a sharp intake of breath in an SUV are a breeze. The little car is at its best bowling from bend to bend, maintaining momentum and keeping the farty V-twin engine on the boil. The brace of exhausts pop and bang on the over-run, but the sound isn’t forced, or overtly aggressive - it’s just another way the T24 induces grins from driver and passers-by alike.
The big four-spoked steering wheel is constantly alive, feeding back every inch of road to your fingertips, while the suspension remains surprisingly supple
At Newnham Bridge the A443 turns into the A456 with more wiggles as it briefly leaves Worcestershire for Shropshire at Burford, which blurs into the old market town of Tenbury Wells. From here it’s the A4112 Oldwood Road to Leominster which is the most engaging part of the route
Passing through picture postcard villages like St Michaels and winding through forest and open farmland the views are ever-changing and the road continually commands attention as it heads towards Hereford (in county number three). That’s especially true in the Pembleton, where driving at the national speed limit of 60mph feels like it’s starting to reach the edge of the envelope of the car’s capability, if not quite licking the stamp and sending it. What I mean is that you feel like you’re really motoring along, where in a modern car the enveloping is all about isolating you from the bumps, the noise and even the smells of the road
With the constant activity I barely feel the cold (except when hail stones start to bombard my face), at least until the straighter run on the A49 to Hereford. Here the T24 settles into a not uncomfortable cruise, but for longer trips of this kind I think I’d need a Biggles-style flying hat and goggles.
It would, of course, suit the Pembleton aesthetic, adding to the feel of time travel that this lovely lightweight provides.
ROADBOOK
CLASS: Country Road
NAME: THREE COUNTIES
ROUTE: Great Witley to Hereford
COUNTRY: England
Distance: 30 Miles
In the space of just a few minutes it’s possible to drive through Worcestershire, Shropshire and Herefordshire.