New Imperial started production of motorcycles in 1912 using JAP engines, and raced successfully till 1925 when the founder decided they should make their own engines. 20 year old Matt Wright designed a 250cc engine -admittedly a copy of the existing JAP engine- that was soon winning races. By 1934, it was decided to combine two 250cc cylinders onto a common crankcase to make a racer for the 500 class. The 60 degree V twin worked well and on its second attempt at Brooklands, set a record for the first multi to travel over 100mph for an hour. The handling was poor as it was basically a 250 chassis- not up to the additional power. Apparently there were only two examples built in 1934 with another two in 1935. The machines were raced in 1934, 35 and 36 with little success after which the company decided to quit racing.
The Classic Motorcycle magazine of June 1993 noted that two examples were known to exist, with a third that had been stolen, the whereabouts unknown. I wonder if it ever turned up?
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