Car shows never cease to amaze. We recently attended the Military Jeep Club of Queensland's annual show at Canungra Showgrounds in the Gold Coast Hinterland. It's a mecca for military vehicles – not just Jeeps – but including Studebaker US6, Chevrolet Blitz, Land Rover, Dodges, military ambulances, Ford Jeeps and all types military motorcycles and sidecars.

There are Jeeps bristling with machine guns, armoured personnel carriers, Diamond-T recovery vehicles, trucks with cannons, and all weighed down with thick armour plating, axes, shovels, spades, ropes, recovery straps, and ammunition. This is big boys toy heaven.

Then we spotted it. The anti-thesis of everything military. A toy poodle surrounded by a wolf pack. A rare Vauxhall 25 Wingham cabriolet with it's closest relationship to the military the fact that is pre-war as a 1937 model. And, it's in immaculate condition - finished in cream - in a sea of khaki militaria. The main interest in this car is not so much that it's an classic Vauxhall, but the fact its a Wingham Vauxhall.

Wingham cabriolet bodies were fitted on a number of British cars by Martin-Walter Ltd., which trace its beginnings to 1773. They were humble harness makers that expanded into the building of carriages and coaches in the horse and carriage era. John S. Walter left the family business for health reasons and moved to Folkestone in Kent, about 114 km south east of London in the late 1800s. He set up a business making and repairing saddles and harnesses with plenty of nearby custom with the Shorncliffe Army Camp and its horse regiments on his doorstep.

By 1911 Walter and his brother-in-law Spencer Apps formed a company and soon after purchased a local coach maker, Hills & Co., which had been in business for around a century. The aim was to make the transition from horse-based products to the horse-less carriage. This was a frenetic period in the history of the automobile. Buyers were torn between leaving the horse-and-carriage era for the new fangled technology. There is no doubt many asked the question, `will it last' or would the automobile be a passing fad.

The Martin-Walter company had no doubts. In this era it was common for car manufacturers to build the chassis and drivelines and for outside coachbuilders to build bodies to fit the chassis. So the beginnings of Martin-Walter were similar to that of Australia's Holden – from carriage builder in the horse and buggy era to coach builder for automobile manufacturers. In a short time Martin-Walter produced bodies for companies such as Rolls-Royce, Vauxhall, Bentley, Daimler, Armstrong-Siddeley, Sunbeam and even Mercedes-Benz.

With a client list reading like a Who's Who of motoring, Martin-Walker must have had a lot going for it. The bodies must have been superbly crafted. Martin-Walter secured the sole rights to German technology that was, at the time, revolutionary although now it seems so simple. The product was the automatic closing roof. The roof has always been the bane of life for convertible owners, no more so in this era when taking the rag top down or putting it up again was an exercise that involved at times two people getting out of the car to manage the canvas. The German technology simplified the process by using springs. At first the system was used on roadsters, but it was soon obvious the Brits preferred their cars with four seats not two, so the system was adapted to suit four seaters.

There's no doubt this was a critical aspect of the success of the Wingham body. Buyers have always disliked spending time deploying or reinstating rag tops. (This is still a gripe of mine in 2009 with the Jeep Wrangler!) The Wingham body from Martin-Walter overcame the problem. It was just a matter of undoing a couple of latches on top of the windscreen and the springs did the rest of the work without the need for the driver or passenger to get out.

The Wingham body style became so popular Martin-Walter was in demand from Rolls-Royce, Sunbeam, Daimler and Armstrong-Siddeley ... and particularly Vauxhall. In 1925 Vauxhall was taken over by General Motors. Just six years later, in 1931, Holden would be taken over also by GM. The parallels between the two companies – Martin-Walter and Holden - is quite remarkable with Holden starting out with James Alexander Holden setting up shop in King William Street, Adelaide as a leather worker and saddlemaker in 1856.

In 1936 Vauxhall introduced the 25 hp GY and GL models. Our featured car is the Vauxhall GY 25 hp with a Wingham cabriolet body. Even at a distance it is easy to tell this car is something special. The design is simply superb with a wide black running board, prominent bonnet, large headlamps and mudguards that are a feature in themselves. The fit is consistent between the panels which gives the car a sense of being crafted, not simply built. The use of chrome is wonderful and not overdone, although it would probably stand out a lot more on darker colours like burgundy, blue or black. The finer details are fantastic. Note the quarter-mirrors fold out to create a windbreak for passengers when the roof is down. All side windows can be raised or lowered while the roof is down or up.