1.
Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
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The Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is a motor racing circuit on Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia. The current layout was first used in 1956, motor racing on Phillip Island began in 1928 with the running of the 100 Miles Road Race, an event which has since become known as the first Australian Grand Prix. It utilised a high speed rectangle of local public roads with four similar right hand corners. The course length varied, with the car course approximately 6 miles per lap, the circuit was the venue for the Australian Grand Prix through to 1935 and it was used for the last time on 6 May 1935 for the Jubilee Day Races. A new 3.312 mile triangular circuit utilising the pit straight from the original course was subsequently mapped out. The final car event on the circuit was held on Cup Day 1938, about 2 km away from the original circuit, it still bears the corner name signs of the original circuit. As the piece of land was on the edge of the coast. The new track was opened in 1956 and in 1960 the first Armstrong 500 production car race was held at the circuit, the circuit reopened in October 1967 and hosted the Phillip Island 500K endurance race, a round of the Australian Manufacturers Championship, from 1971 to 1977. The race was also a round of the Australian Touring Car Championship in 1976 and 1977, but again, due to its testing terrain, the circuit required significant maintenance and slowly declined through the 1970s. It was farmed by its owners while closed and was sold in 1985 in preparation for reopening. This meant that the surface was a cold mix which easily broke up under the rigours of racing. It would not be until the mid-1980s that the bridge would be allowing the necessary equipment needed for resurfacing. The circuit was refurbished with a length of 4.445 kilometres and was reopened on 4 December 1988 for the final round of the 1988 Swann Insurance International Series for motorcycles. In 1989, the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix joined the F. I. M, Road Racing World Championship calendar for the first time, and was held at Phillip Island. The 1989 race saw a race long dice in the 500 cc division between local favourites Wayne Gardner and Kevin Magee, along with Wayne Rainey and Christian Sarron, the race was won by 1987 World Champion Gardner to the delight of the huge crowd. Gardner would make it two in a row at the Island in 1990 before the race moved to Eastern Creek in Sydney for 1991, the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix would remain at Eastern Creek until it returned permanently to Phillip Island from 1997 onwards. Phillip Island hosted its first Superbike World Championship round in 1990, local riders Peter Goddard and Rob Phillis won the two races for what was Round 12 of the season, with Goddard having secured pole position. The World Superbike round continues to be held annually at Phillip Island to this day, in 1990, the Australian Touring Car Championship returned to the circuit for the first time since 1977, this time as a sprint round
2.
Victoria (Australia)
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Victoria is a state in southeast Australia. Victoria is Australias most densely populated state and its second-most populous state overall, most of its population is concentrated in the area surrounding Port Phillip Bay, which includes the metropolitan area of its state capital and largest city, Melbourne, Australias second-largest city. Prior to British European settlement, the area now constituting Victoria was inhabited by a number of Aboriginal peoples. With Great Britain having claimed the entire Australian continent east of the 135th meridian east in 1788, Victoria was included in the wider colony of New South Wales. The first settlement in the area occurred in 1803 at Sullivan Bay, and much of what is now Victoria was included in the Port Phillip District in 1836, Victoria was officially created as a separate colony in 1851, and achieved self-government in 1855. Politically, Victoria has 37 seats in the Australian House of Representatives and 12 seats in the Australian Senate, at state level, the Parliament of Victoria consists of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. Victoria is currently governed by the Labor Party, with Daniel Andrews the current Premier, the personal representative of the Queen of Australia in the state is the Governor of Victoria, currently Linda Dessau. Local government is concentrated in 79 municipal districts, including 33 cities, although a number of unincorporated areas still exist, Victorias total gross state product is ranked second in Australia, although Victoria is ranked fourth in terms of GSP per capita because of its limited mining activity. Culturally, Melbourne is home to a number of museums, art galleries and theatres and is described as the sporting capital of Australia. The Melbourne Cricket Ground is the largest stadium in Australia, and the host of the 1956 Summer Olympics, Victoria has eight public universities, with the oldest, the University of Melbourne, having been founded in 1853. Victoria, like Queensland, was named after Queen Victoria, who had been on the British throne for 14 years when the colony was established in 1851. The first British settlement in the later known as Victoria was established in October 1803 under Lieutenant-Governor David Collins at Sullivan Bay on Port Phillip. In the year 1826 Colonel Stewart, Captain S. Wright, fly and the brigs Dragon and Amity, took a number of convicts and a small force composed of detachments of the 3rd and 93rd regiments. Victorias next settlement was at Portland, on the south west coast of what is now Victoria, edward Henty settled Portland Bay in 1834. Melbourne was founded in 1835 by John Batman, who set up a base in Indented Head, from settlement the region around Melbourne was known as the Port Phillip District, a separately administered part of New South Wales. Shortly after the now known as Geelong was surveyed by Assistant Surveyor W. H. Smythe. And in 1838 Geelong was officially declared a town, despite earlier white settlements dating back to 1826, days later, still in 1851 gold was discovered near Ballarat, and subsequently at Bendigo. Later discoveries occurred at sites across Victoria
3.
Australia
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Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area, the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australias capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney, for about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored, on 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard, Australia has the worlds 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income. With the second-highest human development index globally, the country highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom. The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times, the Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted, in 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia. The first official published use of the term Australia came with the 1830 publication of The Australia Directory and these first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists, the northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia. The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutch navigator, Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent New Holland during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688, in 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration, a British settlement was established in Van Diemens Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the part of Western Australia in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, the Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia
4.
Australian Grand Prix
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The Australian Grand Prix is a motor race held annually in Australia currently under contract to host Formula One until 2023. The Grand Prix is the oldest surviving motor racing held in Australia having been held 79 times since it was first run at Phillip Island in 1928. Since 1985, the race has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship and is held at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit at Albert Park in Melbourne. Prior to its inclusion in the World Championship, it was held at a multitude of venues in state of Australia. It was a centrepiece of the Tasman Series in most years between 1964 and 1972 and was a round of the Australian Drivers Championship on many occasions between 1957 and 1983. It became part of the Formula One World Championship in 1985 and was held at the Adelaide Street Circuit in Adelaide, South Australia, from year to 1995. The Australian Grand Prix is the first round of the Championship, having been the first race of each year, excluding 2006 and 2010, since the event moved to Melbourne. During its years in Adelaide, the Australian Grand Prix was the round of the Championship. As the final round of the season, the Grand Prix hosted a handful of memorable races, most notably the 1986 and 1994 races which saw the 1986 and 1994 World Drivers Championships decided. Frenchman Alain Prost is the driver to win the Australian Grand Prix in both non-championship and World Championship formats, having won the race in 1982,1986. The current naming rights sponsor of the event is Swiss watchmaker Rolex, the most recent race, the 2017 Australian Grand Prix, was won by Sebastian Vettel driving for Ferrari. The Australian Grand Prix is contracted to remain at its current Melbourne location until at least 2023, the inaugural race was won by Arthur Waite in what was effectively an entry supported by the Austin Motor Company, a modified Austin 7. For eight years, races, first called the Australian Grand Prix in 1929 and this was the era of the Australian special, mechanical concoctions of disparate chassis and engine that were every bit as capable as the Grand Prix machines imported from Europe. For all the ingenuity of the early Australian mechanic-racers, Bugattis dominated the results, the last Phillip Island race was in 1935 and the title lapsed for three years. One more race was held, at the Lobethal Circuit near theSouth Australian town of Lobethal in 1939, in the immediate post-war era, racing was sparse with competitors using pre-war cars with supplies cobbled together around the rationing of fuel and tyres. Mount Panorama held the first post-war Grand Prix in 1947, beginning a system between the Australian States, as fostered by the Australian Automobile Association. Grand Prix machinery had already been filtering through in the shape of older Maserati and OSCAs, the end of the Australian specials was coming, but the magnificent Maybach-based series of specials driven exuberantly by Stan Jones would give many hope for the next few years. Jack Brabham took his first of three AGP wins in 1955 at the short Port Wakefield Circuit in South Australia, the race is significant in that Brabham was driving a Bristol powered Cooper T40, the first ever rear-engine car to win the Grand Prix
5.
Bugatti Type 35
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The Type 35 was the most successful of the Bugatti racing models. The Type 35 was phenomenally successful, winning over 1,000 races in its time and it took the Grand Prix World Championship in 1926 after winning 351 races and setting 47 records in the two prior years. At its height, Type 35s averaged 14 race wins per week, Bugatti won the Targa Florio for five consecutive years, from 1925 through 1929, with the Type 35. The original model, introduced at the Grand Prix of Lyon on August 3,1924, bore was 60 mm and stroke was 88 mm as on many previous Bugatti models. This new powerplant featured five main bearings with a ball bearing system. This allowed the engine to rev to 6,000 rpm, solid axles with leaf springs were used front and rear, and drum brakes at the back, operated by cables, were specified. Alloy wheels were a novelty, as was the front axle for reduced unsprung weight. A second feature of the Type 35 that was to become a Bugatti trademark was passing the springs through the front axle rather than simply U-bolting them together as was done on their earlier cars, a rare version was de-bored for a total displacement of 1.5 L. There are two of these cars in New Zealand, dimensions, Length,3680 mm Width,1320 mm Wheelbase,2400 mm Track,1200 mm Weight,750 kg A less expensive version of the Type 35 appeared in May,1925. The factorys Type 35A name was ignored by the public, who nicknamed it Tecla after a famous maker of imitation jewelry, the Teclas engine used three plain bearings, smaller valves, and coil ignition like the Type 30. While this decreased maintenance requirements, it also reduced output, one-hundred thirty nine of the Type 35As were sold. The Type 35C featured a Roots supercharger, despite Ettore Bugattis disdain for forced induction, output was nearly 128 hp with a single Zenith carburettor. Type 35Cs won the French Grand Prix at Saint-Gaudens in 1928, for 1926, Bugatti introduced a special model for the Targa Florio race. Called the Type 35T officially, it became known as the Targa Florio. Engine displacement was up to 2.3 L with a longer 100 mm stroke, Grand Prix rule changes limiting capacity to 2.0 L limited the appeal of this model at the time with just thirteen produced. The final version of the Type 35 series was the Type 35B of 1927, originally named Type 35TC, it shared the 2.3 L engine of the Type 35T but added a large supercharger like the Type 35C. Output was 138 hp, and 45 examples were made, a British racing green Type 35B driven by William Grover-Williams won the 1929 French Grand Prix at Le Mans. The Type 35 chassis and body were reused on the Type 37 sports car, fitted with a new 1.5 L straight-4 engine,290 Type 37s were built
6.
Lea-Francis
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Lea-Francis is a motor manufacturing company that began by building bicycles. Richard Henry Lea and Graham Inglesby Francis started the business in Coventry in 1895 and they branched out into car manufacture in 1903 and motorcycles in 1911. Lea-Francis built cars under licence for the Singer company, in 1919 they started to build their own cars from bought-in components. From 1922 Lea-Francis had a tie up with Vulcan of Southport sharing manufacturing, Vulcan supplied bodies to Lea-Francis and in return got gearboxes and steering gear. Two six-cylinder Vulcan designed cars were marketed as Lea-Francis 14/40 and 16/60 as well as Vulcans, the association finished in 1928 when Vulcan stopped making cars. A sporting image began to appear from about 1925, leading to such as the Hyper. The race was watched by a record 250,000 spectators, the 12 hp and the 14 hp were introduced in 1937 and continued until the start of the war in 1939 when production ceased and the factory concentrated on manufacturing for the war effort. Post-war car production commenced in 1946 with updated vehicles based on the pre-war designs, the 14hp Saloon and Sports were luxurious and sporty vehicles, and were popular, if expensive. Production once again came to a halt in 1954, after not having been present at Earls Court since 1952, a number of 14hp Sports chassis were sold to Connaught Engineering where they became the L2 and L3 sports-racing cars. Connaught developed a Formula 2 racing engine for their A type single seater which was based on the Lea-Francis design, the company had a chequered history with some notable motorcycles and cars but financial difficulties regularly arising. The Hillfields site was abandoned in 1937 when it was sold by the receiver and it survived there until 1962 when the company was finally wound up. A total of almost 10,000 Lea-Francis vehicles were made until production ceased due to the 1960 Lea-Francis Lynxs failing to capture the publics attention. Only three Lynxes were made, all prototypes and this was a tube framed 2+2 roadster with a Ford Zephyr 2.6 litre inline-six engine. The example displayed at the October 1960 British Motor show was famously painted in mauve with gold trim, the motor manufacturing parts of the company passed into the hands of the receiver in 1962, leaving Lea-Francis to continue with their engineering business. The assets of the company were purchased by Quinton Hazell Ltd. a component manufacturer, Price has continued to provide service and spares for the surviving cars, and has also built a number of retro Lea-Francis motor cars reviving the model name Ace of Spades. These two-seat coupes have Jaguar engines, only a prototype was built before the project had to be abandoned. The Lea-Francis Owners Club has a growing membership of around 340 members who own around 420 vehicles. Notes Sources The Lea Francis Story by Barrie Price, Veloce Publishing,1998 ISBN 1-901295-01-X Lea Francis Owners Club website
7.
Austin 7
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The Austin 7 is an economy car that was produced from 1922 until 1939 in the United Kingdom by Austin. It was nicknamed the Baby Austin and was at time one of the most popular cars produced for the British market. Its effect on the British market was similar to that of the Model T Ford in the US and it was also licensed and copied by companies all over the world. The very first BMW car, the BMW Dixi, was a licensed Austin 7, in France they were made and sold as Rosengarts. In Japan Nissan also used the 7 design as the basis for their first cars, many Austin 7s were rebuilt as specials after the Second World War, including the first race car built by Bruce McLaren, and the first Lotus, the Mark I. Such was the power of the Austin 7 name that the company re-used it for early versions of the A30 in 1951 and Mini in 1959. Until the First World War Austin built mainly large cars, after this they returned to bigger cars. In 1920 Sir Herbert Austin commenced working on the concept of a smaller car and this idea was spurred on by the introduction of the Horsepower Tax in 1921. His design concept marked a departure from his companys conservative motoring past and this work was carried out in the billiard room of Austins Lickey Grange home. Edge convinced Austin to use a small four-cylinder engine, the original side valve engine design featured a capacity of 696cc giving a RAC rating of 7.2 hp, the cast cylinder block featured a detachable head and was mounted on an aluminium crankcase. The crankshaft used one roller and two ball bearings and the big-ends were splash lubricated, edge also carried out the design of other mechanical components such as the three speed gearbox and clutch assembly. Austin was largely responsible for styling the Sevens design, which was influenced by the design of the Peugeot Quadrilette. The A frame chassis design was believed to have influenced by the design of an American truck used in the Longbridge factory in the early 1920s. The design was completed in 1922 and three prototypes were constructed in a area of the Longbridge factory, and announced to the public in July 1922. Austin had put a large amount of his own money into the design, in return for his investment he was paid a royalty of two guineas, on every car sold. By 1939 when production ended,290,000 cars. The Austin 7 was considerably smaller than the Ford Model T, the wheelbase was only 6 ft 3 inches, and the track only 40 inches. Equally it was lighter – less than half the Fords weight at 794 pounds, the engine required for adequate performance was therefore equally reduced and the 747 cc sidevalve was quite capable with a modest 10 hp output
8.
Aston Martin
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Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. It was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford and their sports cars are regarded as a British cultural icon. Aston Martin has held a Royal Warrant as purveyor of motorcars to HRH the Prince of Wales since 1982, headquarters and the main production site are in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England, on the site of a former RAF V Bomber airbase. One of Aston Martins recent cars was named after the 1950s Vulcan Bomber, Aston Martin has diversified to speed boats, and real estate development. Aston Martin had a troubled history after the quarter of the 20th century but has also enjoyed long periods of success. “In the first century we went bankrupt seven times, ” incoming CEO Andy Palmer told Automotive News Europe, “The second century is about making sure that is not the case. ”Aston Martin was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. The two had joined forces as Bamford & Martin the previous year to sell cars made by Singer from premises in Callow Street, London where they also serviced GWK, Martin raced specials at Aston Hill near Aston Clinton, and the pair decided to make their own vehicles. The first car to be named Aston Martin was created by Martin by fitting a four-cylinder Coventry-Simplex engine to the chassis of a 1908 Isotta-Fraschini and they acquired premises at Henniker Mews in Kensington and produced their first car in March 1915. Production could not start because of the outbreak of World War I, all machinery was sold to the Sopwith Aviation Company. After the war found new premises at Abingdon Road, Kensington. Bamford left in 1920 and Aston Martin was revitalised with funding from Count Louis Zborowski, in 1922, Bamford & Martin produced cars to compete in the French Grand Prix, which went on to set world speed and endurance records at Brooklands. Approximately 55 cars were built for sale in two configurations, long chassis and short chassis, Aston Martin went bankrupt in 1924 and was bought by Dorothea, Lady Charnwood who put her son John Benson on the board. Aston Martin failed again in 1925 and the closed in 1926. Later that year, Bill Renwick, Augustus Bertelli and investors including Lady Charnwood took control of the business and they renamed it Aston Martin Motors and moved it to the former Whitehead Aircraft Limited Hanworth works in Feltham. The only Renwick and Bertelli motor car made, it was known as Buzzbox, between 1926 and 1937 Bertelli was both technical director and designer of all new Aston Martins, since known as Bertelli cars. They included the 1½-litre T-type, International, Le Mans, MKII and its derivative, the Ulster, and the 2-litre 15/98 and its racing derivative. Most were open two-seater sports cars bodied by Bert Bertellis brother Enrico, with a number of long-chassis four-seater tourers, dropheads. Bertelli was a competent driver keen to race his cars, one of few owner/manufacturer/drivers, the LM team cars were very successful in national and international motor racing including at Le Mans and the Mille Miglia
9.
Anzani
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Anzani was an engine manufacturer founded by the Italian Alessandro Anzani, which produced proprietary engines for aircraft, cars, boats, and motorcycles in factories in Britain, France and Italy. From his native Italy, Anzani moved to France where he involved in cycle racing. He moved on to motorcycles and designed and built a record breaking lightweight engine, in 1907, he set up a small workshop in Paris with three staff and while they were building his engines, he designed a hydrofoil powered by one of his engines and propellers. He supplied one of his engines to Enrico Forlanini and developed it further into a three-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine ideal for the new aeroplanes. One of the engines, the 25 hp Anzani W-3 or Fan type, was supplied to Louis Blériot who used it on his successful crossing of the English Channel in 1909. Fan 10-12 hp 3.35 x 3.35 Anzani 3-cyl, Fan 12-15 hp 3.35 x 3.94 Anzani 3-cyl. Fan 25-30 hp 4.13 x 5.12 Anzani 3-cyl, Fan 30-35 hp 4.73 x 5.12 Anzani 3-cyl. Fan 40-45 hp 5.32 x 5.92 Anzani 3-cyl, V 30-35 hp 35 hp at 1,600 rpm Anzani 4-cyl. Radial 45hp at 1,300 rpm Anzani 6-cyl, another factory at Monza, Italy was added in 1914. In 1920, Anzani turned to racing and built a small car with one of his 750 cc two-cylinder engines, air-cooled of course. They also made a 1098 cc cyclecar between 1923 and 1924, as used in the T. B. On his 50th birthday in 1927, Anzani decided to sell his factories in Paris and London, keeping only the Monza works for sentimental reasons, in the UK, British Anzani outsourced the manufacture of their engines to Coventry Ordnance Works Ltd. In the 1920s, it was refinanced as British Vulpine Engine Company and they supplied AC Cars with the 1496cc side-valve four-cylinder, Frazer-Nash with a 1496cc side valve engine, Morgan Motor Company with a V-twin, and Squire with the R1 twin cam engine. Berkeley Cars used small Anzani motorcycle engines in some models, British Anzanis best known products were motorcycle, lawnmower and outboard engines. Cotton, Tandon and Greeves motorcycles used Anzani motors, in later years, the company diversified. In the years after World War II, the main product was the Iron Horse - a two-wheeled pedestrian-controlled ploughing engine. In time, four-wheeled versions with the sitting on the front of the vehicle were produced. The company became the British Anzani Group, and was trading under that name when it went into liquidation in 1980, the trademark British Anzani was re-registered in 2003 and the company, Anzani Ltd, in 2006
10.
Riley Nine
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The Riley Nine was one of the most successful light sporting cars produced by the British motor industry in the inter war period. It was made by the Riley company of Coventry, England with a range of body styles between 1926 and 1938. The car was designed by two of the Riley brothers, Percy and Stanley. Stanley was responsible for the chassis, suspension and body and the older Percy designed the engine, the 1,087 cc four-cylinder engine had hemispherical combustion chambers with the valves inclined at 45 degrees in a crossflow head. To save the expense and complication of overhead camshafts, the valves were operated by two camshafts mounted high in the crankcase through short pushrods and rockers. The engine was mounted in the chassis by a rubber bushed bar that ran through the block with a mount at the rear of the gearbox. Drive was to the wheels through a torque tube and spiral bevel live rear axle mounted on semi elliptic springs. At launch in July 1926 two body styles were available, a fabric bodied saloon called the Monaco at £285 and a fabric four-seat tourer for £235, the saloon could reach 60 mph and give 40 mpg‑imp. After the cars 1926 launch, Mark 1 production actually started in 1927 at Percys engine factory, due to some resistance in the main works to the new design. It was such a critically acclaimed success that after fewer than a thousand cars had been produced the works quickly shut down side-valve production and tooled up for the new Nine in early 1928. The Mark III was an update of the II at the end of 1928, evolving stronger wheels. The Mark IV was a thorough re working of the Nine, heavier Riley-made 6-stud hubs and axles replaced the bought-in five-stud items. A new cable braking system was introduced with larger drums, the range of bodies was further extended in 1929 with the Biarritz saloon which was a de-luxe version of the Monaco. The improved brakes were fitted using the Riley continuous cable system, more body variants were added over the next few years and in 1934 a Preselector gearbox was offered for £27 extra. The range was slimmed down in 1935 to the Monaco saloon, Kestrel streamlined saloon, in an attempt to keep costs down Riley entered into an agreement with Briggs bodies to produce a steel body for a newly designed chassis. This new chassis was introduced in 1936 and incorporated such features as Girling rod operated brakes, the Briggs body was named the Merlin and was available alongside the last nine Kestrel variant, also built on the Merlin chassis. The final version was the 1938 Victor also available with 1496 cc engine, the Victor had the engine further forward to increase interior room, with the battery moved to the engine bay and smaller diameter wheels were fitted. The Riley company was bought by Lord Nuffield in 1938 and Nine production ceased as the company pursued a strict two-engine line up, Rileys preselector gearbox provided easy progress through the gears
11.
Morris Minor (1928)
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This article refers to the motor car manufactured by Morris Motors Limited from 1928–1934. For the Morris Minor manufactured by Morris Motors Limited from 1948–1971, the Morris Minor was a small 4-seater car with an 850 cc engine manufactured by Morris Motors Limited from 1928 to 1934. The name was resurrected for another car for the same market in 1948. Beginning in 1922 the tiny seven horsepower Austin had brought motoring to a new public, against that Morriss Oxfords and Cowleys had taken 41 per cent of the entire 1925 British private car market. Morris sales had begun to slow in 1926 and they were revived by a new face for the Morris Oxford and Cowley and an expansion of Morriss range both up and down the scale. William Morris now had ample wherewithal to go after Herbert Austins little car with his own small Morris, with a surplus of production facilities, and Wolseleys design engineers added to his own at Morris Commercial Cars, little time was taken for development of the Morris Minor. A more complex design than Austins Seven the all-new car was on the market before the middle of 1928, the new Morris engine was designed by Wolseley by this time also personally owned by William Morris. It was largely a new design but following a conventional Wolseley SOHC front camshaft drive concept if much smaller than any existing Wolseley unit, the overhead camshaft was driven by a vertical spiral bevel geared shaft that passed through the dynamo carrying the armature. A single SU carburettor was fitted and coil ignition used, the engine produced 20 bhp at 4000 rpm allowing a top speed of 55 mph. The electrical system was 6 volt, the Morris Minors engine was produced in two versions. From 1928 to 1930 all the cars had an 847 cc overhead-camshaft engine designed and it remained in production for the more expensive Minors until 1932. Morriss in-house engineers at Morris Commercial Cars led by Percy Rose, initially for the lower-priced cars —first for the £100 car, later for others — it remained in production until 1934. 39,087 of the type and 47,231 of the side-valve version were made. Previously E G Wrigley & Co it was a component supplier to Morris. He had bought and renamed it after it had fallen into receivership, wrigleys had invested heavily and re-equipped its works to make components for a major mass-produced motorcar project and that project had collapsed at the last minute. The chassis built of steel has cable-operated four-wheel brakes and it rides on half-elliptic springs. The 26-inch wire wheels take tyres of 3. 50-inch section, the car is to be complete with all accessories including an engine starter. The central brake lever works a transmission brake at the back of the gearbox, the bucket-type front seats are adjustable, the passengers side folds and tips
12.
Alvis 12/50
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The Alvis 12/50 is a car introduced by British business Alvis Car and Engineering Company Ltd in 1923. It went through a series of versions, with the last ones being made in 1932, a range of factory bodies could be specified in two- or four-seat form, with either open or closed bodies. The first 12/50s were produced in late 1923 for the 1924 model year. The cars from this first year of production were designated SA and SB, and had a 1496 cc 4-cylinder overhead valve engine in a chassis with a wheelbase of 108.5 in for the SA, and 112.5 in for the SB. The engines of early cars were carried in a subframe bolted to the relatively slender ladder chassis. The SA usually carried two-seat bodywork, typically the Super Sports 2/3-seater nicknamed ducks back because of its rear end. The SA and SB 12/50s were built with brakes on the wheels only. All the 12/50s had a four speed gearbox with right hand change. The cars were right hand drive, the SC arrived in Autumn 1924 for the 1925 model year with a larger 1598 cc engine and, in most cases, the longer chassis length that would be standard for the 12/50 until the end of production. Front wheel brakes were offered as an option on this model, the 12/50 was redesigned for the 1926 model year. A single-plate clutch replaced the previous type, and for these and all subsequent 12/50s the engine was bolted directly to the chassis. From the TE and TF models onwards four-wheel brakes were fitted as standard, the TE and was superseded for the 1927 model year by the TG. Confusingly, the short-stroke TF was replaced in the 1927 range by a car with an S prefix, the SD. The TG was the touring model, while the SD - powered by the 1496cc engine. Also available in this year was the TH, which had the gearbox and rear axle ratios of the touring TG, the TG and SD models were available until 1929. The TG and TH models can be recognised by their taller radiators, cars from the 1928 and 1929 model years also sported higher-set lamps, in accordance with the fashion of the time. Fitted with the 1645 cc engine continued in production until 1932. The TJ was joined in the range by a sporting version of the same chassis, but this car was marketed not as a 12/50
13.
Alvis Car and Engineering Company
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Alvis Car and Engineering Company Ltd was a British manufacturing company in Coventry from 1919 to 1967. In addition to automobiles designed for the market, the company also produced racing cars, aircraft engines, armoured cars. Car manufacturing ended after the company became a subsidiary of Rover in 1965, Alvis became part of British Leyland and then in 1982 was sold to United Scientific Holdings, which renamed itself Alvis plc. John and Company Ltd. was founded in 1919 by Thomas George John and its first products were stationary engines, carburetors and motorscooters. Following complaints from the Avro aircraft company whose logo bore similarities to the original winged green triangle, the origin of the name Alvis has been the subject of a great deal of speculation over the years. Some have suggested that de Freville proposed the name Alvis as a compound of the aluminium and vis, or perhaps it may have been derived from the Norse mythological weaponsmith. De Freville however vigorously rejected all of these theories, in 1921 he specifically stated that the name had no meaning whatsoever, and was chosen simply because it could be easily pronounced in any language. He reaffirmed this position in the early 1960s, stating that any other explanations for the source of the name were purely coincidental, production was relocated to Holyhead Road in Coventry, where from 1922 to 1923 they also made the Buckingham car. In 1922 George Thomas Smith-Clarke left his job as assistant works manager at Daimler and joined Alvis as Chief Engineer, Smith-Clarke was accompanied by William M. Dunn, who also left his job as a draughtsman at Daimler to become Chief Draughtsman at Alvis. This partnership lasted for nearly 28 years and was responsible for producing some of the most successful products in the companys history, Smith-Clarke left in 1950, and Dunn assumed Smith-Clarkes position as chief engineer, remaining in that position until 1959. De Frevilles first engine design was an engine with aluminium pistons and pressure lubrication. The first car model using de Frevilles engine was the Alvis 10/30 and it was an instant success and established the reputation for quality workmanship and superior performance for which the company was to become famous. The original 10/30 side-valve engine was improved, becoming by 1923 the overhead valve Alvis 12/50, around 700 of the 12/50 models and 120 of the later Alvis 12/60 models survive today. 1927 saw the introduction of the six-cylinder Alvis 14.75 and these cars were elegant and full of technical innovations. Independent front suspension and the worlds first all-synchromesh gearbox came in 1933 followed by servo assisted brakes. The Alvis 12/75 model was introduced in 1928, a model bristling with innovation, such as drive, in-board brakes, overhead camshaft and, as an option. Bertelli Ltd, Grose, Gurney Nutting, Hooper, Lancefield Coachworks, Martin Walter Ltd, Mayfair, Mulliners, Tickford, Vanden Plas, Weymann Fabric Bodies, and William Arnold Ltd. Several cars also survive with quite exotic one-off bodywork from other such as Holbrook
14.
Standard Motor Company
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The Standard Motor Company Limited was a motor vehicle manufacturer, founded in Coventry, England, in 1903 by Reginald Walter Maudslay. It purchased Triumph in 1945 and in 1959 officially changed its name to Standard-Triumph International, for many years it manufactured Ferguson tractors powered by its Vanguard engine. All Standards tractor assets were sold to Massey-Ferguson as of 31 August 1959, as of 28 September 1959 Standard Motor Company was renamed Standard-Triumph International Limited. A new subsidiary took the name The Standard Motor Company Limited, the Standard name was last used in Britain in 1963, and in India in 1987. Maudslay, great grandson of the eminent engineer Henry Maudslay, had trained under Sir John Wolfe-Barry as a civil engineer, in 1902 he joined his cousin Cyril Charles Maudslay at his Maudslay Motor Company to make marine internal combustion engines. The marine engines did not sell well, and still in 1902 they made their first engine intended for a car. It was fitted to a chain-drive chassis, the three-cylinder engine, designed by Alexander Craig was an advanced unit with a single overhead camshaft and pressure lubrication. Realising the enormous potential of the carriage and using a gift of £3,000 from Sir John Wolfe-Barry, R. W. Maudslay left his cousin. His Standard Motor Company was incorporated on 2 March 1903 and he established his business in a factory in a two-storey building in Much Park Street. By the end of 1903 three cars had been built and the force had been increased to twenty five. The increased labour force produced a car three weeks during 1904. The single-cylinder model was replaced by a two-cylinder model quickly followed by three- and four-cylinder versions. Even the first cars boasted shaft drive as opposed to chains, as well as supplying complete chassis, the company found a good market selling engines for fitting to other cars, especially where the owner wanted more power. Although Alex Craig, a Scottish engineer, was engaged to do much of the detail work, in 1905 Maudslay himself drove the first Standard car to compete in a race. This was the RAC Tourist Trophy in which he finished 11th out of 42 starters, in 1905 the first export order was also received, from a Canadian who arrived at the factory in person. The order was reported in the newspaper with some emphasis. The company exhibited at the 1905 London Motor Show in Crystal Palace, at which a London dealer and he joined Standard and later was managing director for many years. In late 1906 production was transferred to premises and output was concentrated on 6-cylinder models
15.
Automobiles Lombard
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Automobiles Lombard was a French automobile manufacturer which was active from 1927 to 1929. André Lombards early career in the business involved working with Salmson. Lombards final position with Salmson was as Commercial Director, and it was in this capacity that he had a falling out with the companys Technical Director. Petit accused Lombard of having purchased production equipment of poor quality, bad feeling between the two continued to fester and in 1923 André Lombard left Salmson, the agreement covering his departure included a five year non-competition clause. These were prototypes, but they formed the basis for the Lombard AL3 which followed a year later, the cars were developed by Edmond Vareille and used a light voiturette style. Various addresses in the Paris area were associated with the production of the automobiles, Lombard took a stand at the 20th Paris Motor Show in October 1926 and exhibited the car they would be selling in 1927. The Lombard AL3 was powered by a 4-cylinder twin-overhead camshaft engine of 1, some of the engines on the production cars would be fitted with superchargers. By the time ended, in 1929,94 cars were recorded as having been produced. Initially the cars were produced by E. Briault in Courbevoie, from 1928 the cars were assembled by The Émile Salmson sons at Boulogne-Billancourt. Another source indicates that the cars were assembled at Argenteuil by BNC, when production ended in 1929 it was BNC that acquired the components inventory and a number of half finished Lombards. United Soft Media Verlag, München 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8, george Nick Georgano, The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1
16.
Amilcar
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The Amilcar was a French automobile manufactured from 1921 to 1940. Amilcar was founded in July 1921 by Joseph Lamy and Emile Akar, the name Amilcar was an imperfect anagram of the partners names. The business was established at 34 rue du Chemin-Vert in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, however, Amilcar quickly outgrew their restricted city-centre premises, and during the middle part of 1924 the company relocated to Saint-Denis on the northern edge of the city. The original Amilcar was a small cyclecar, designed by Jules Salomon and Edmond Moyet, it bore a striking resemblance to the pre-war Le Zèbre. The vehicle was first exhibited at the Paris Motor Show in October 1921, once a vehicle exceeded these limits it ceased to be a cyclecar and was instead officially designated a voiturette. The 4-cylinder 903cc Amilcar CC appeared in 1922, with a wheelbase of just 2,320 mm, the side-valve engine had splash lubrication, and came with a three-speed gearbox. The most famous model of all was the CGS Grand Sport of 1924 and this in turn evolved into the more sporty CGSS Grand Sport Surbaissé. These models were built under license in Germany and in Austria, during the later 1920s the company expanded out of its original comfort zone of small economical cars, the results were mixed. The founders, Akar and Lamy, becoming involved with the management of the business, were persuaded to conclude, in 1931. Sée already knew Amilcar from the inside, having in January 1929 been dismissed from an involved in management of the company. From 1928 the company offered a light touring car, called the M-Type and it was followed by the M2, M3, and M4 versions. The M-type and its successors continued to be produced through the years of financial difficulty, offered for sale till 1935. 1928 saw the introduction of an eight, which was built with an ohc 2. 3-liter engine. This, the C8, proved unreliable, and soon disappeared with only a few hundred produced, the acquisition of Amilcar by Sofia in 1933 did not in itself resolve the financial pressures. At the end of August 1934, still faced with disappointing sales volumes, a new model was clearly needed and in October 1934 the company presented the new 2-litre Amilcar Pégase powered by a 4-cylinder ohv 2150 cc engine supplied by Delahaye. There was also a version of the Pégase with a 2490 cc engine. By October 1935, the smaller Amilcar models having been discontinued and it was agreed that the automotive businesses of Hotchkiss and Amilcar would be merged and the prototype would be developed into an Amilcar model that would become the Amilcar Compound. The front-wheel-drive Amilcar Compound was technically advanced in design for its era, featuring a monocoque made of a light alloy
