History Lanchester Motor Company

1 history

1.1 3 brothers

1.1.1 crystal palace automobile show, january 1903
1.1.2 war
1.1.3 postwar
1.1.4 olympia 1930


1.2 sale or liquidation
1.3 daimler
1.4 jaguar, ford, tata

history
the 3 brothers

twenty-eight 28 hp landaulette

1910 example

edwardian lanchesters set own conventions, expensive , intended last forever

this business begun 3 lanchester brothers, frederick, 1 of influential automobile engineers of 19th , 20th centuries, george , frank incorporated lanchester engine company limited in december 1899 retaining financial support had received 2 brothers, charles vernon pugh , john pugh of rudge-whitworth. others took directorships included whitfield brothers, j. s. taylor , hamilton barnsley – master builder sold business bsa-daimler in 1931.

work on first lanchester car had been started in 1895, designed first principles car, not horseless carriage, , ran on public roads in february or march 1896. had single-cylinder 1306 cc engine piston having 2 connecting rods separate crankshafts , flywheels rotating in opposite directions giving smooth running. two-cylinder engine fitted same chassis in 1897 , second complete car built alongside it. led on first production cars in 1900, when 6 made demonstrators. these had two-cylinder, 4033 cc, horizontal air-cooled engines, retaining twin crankshaft design. steering side lever not wheel. gearbox used epicyclic gearing. first cars sold public in 1901. in 1902 lanchester became first company market disc brakes public. mechanical , on front wheels only. discs thin , made of soft metal brass. although leaving desired, fit definition of disc brake, , beat others market many years.

crystal palace automobile show, january 1903

the lanchester motor-car company show number of handsome vehicles. design here novel throughout, or, rather, differs other designs, lanchester car 1 of first english cars made. engine horizontal , balanced in ingenious manner, change speed gear epicyclic trains controlled band brakes, electric sparking ingeniously contrived, , suspension of special type. describe mechanism of these cars would, however, impossible without elaborate diagrams. notable easy running , absence of vibration.

all bodies made external coachbuilders until 1903 when body department set , 1914 cars carried lanchester built bodies. in 1904, despite full order book, business ran out of money , lanchester engine company limited put voluntary liquidation. after period of management receiver business re-organised re-capitalized , incorporated lanchester motor company limited later year.

the 1904 models had 2470 cc, four-cylinder, water-cooled, overhead-valve engines featuring pressure lubrication, unusual @ time, , mounted epicyclic gearbox between front seats rather centrally resulting design driver sitting forwards , no bonnet. six-cylinder models joined line in 1906. specification started become more conventional wheel steering option 1908, becoming standard end of 1911, , pedals , gear lever replacing original two-lever system of gear changing. george lanchester in charge, frederick having resigned in 1913, , engine moved further forward conventional position in sporting, side-valve, 5.5-litre six-cylinder forty few made before outbreak of world war i. distinctive feature of engine s valves use of leaf springs, rather coil springs. frank lanchester ran london sales office.

before 1914























































war

during world war company made artillery shells , aircraft engines vehicle production continued lanchester 4x2 armoured cars built on lanchester 38 hp chassis use royal naval air service on western front.

postwar

after first world war company adopted single model policy , forty re-introduced 6.2-litre overhead-cam engine in unit 3-speed gearbox still using epicyclic gears , worm drive rear axle. expensive, dearer rolls-royce silver ghost , maintain production smaller car, twenty 1 joined range in 1924. had 3.1-litre, six-cylinder engine, removable cylinder head, mated four-speed conventional gearbox , four-wheel brakes. grew 3.3-litre twenty 3 in 1926. forty replaced thirty straight-eight 4.4-litre engine in 1928. further series of armoured cars made in 1927, using six-wheeled version of forty chassis.

for 1928 there george s last design, 4446 cc straight-8; 126 made before economic depression killed demand.

olympia 1930

twelve months after wall street crash these cars shown lanchester on stand @ olympia motor show in october 1930:

21 hp 6-cylinder landaulette maythorn, £1,775, chassis £1,050
31 hp 8-cylinder limousine hooper, £2,300, chassis £1,325
31 hp 8-cylinder 6/7-seater coupé de ville windovers £2,435

the engines 3,330 , 4,440 cc respectively, wheelbase , track:

6-cylinder: 11 ft 1in , 4 ft 8in
8-cylinder: 11 ft 10½ in , 4 ft 8in


conventional 1920s shapes before sale bsa group













sale or liquidation

within weeks bank called in company s overdraft of £38,000 forcing immediate liquidation of company s assets. because current premises next door bsa s armourer mills @ sparkbrook sale bsa made sense. thomas hamilton barnsley (1867–1930), principal shareholder, chairman , managing director negotiated sale of whole share capital bsa group shortly before death on christmas day 1930. bsa s purchase of whole of shares completed in january 1931 £26,000, fraction of value of assets. car production transferred lanchester s new sister subsidiary, daimler, @ motor mills, sandy lane, radford, coventry.

daimler

george lanchester kept on senior designer , frank became lanchester sales director. first new offering, still designed george lanchester, version of daimler light twenty, lanchester eighteen hydraulic brakes , daimler fluid flywheel. ten of 1933 upmarket version of bsa ten. pre-war fourteen roadrider of 1937, identical daimler new fifteen.

the duke of york, repeat customer during 1920s , 1930s, preferred less showy version of daimler car , took delivery of pair of specially built daimler straight-eight limousines lanchester grille , badges.

post war, ten-horsepower car reintroduced 1287 cc ld10 didn t have daimler equivalent , four-cylinder 1950 fourteen / leda. last model, of prototypes produced, called sprite.

badge engineering



















jaguar, ford, tata

daimler in decline, , in 1960 bsa sold daimler s premises , business jaguar cars have since used daimler name on expensive products. jaguar has moved , out of ford group , since 2008 jaguar, lanchester belongs tata motors.