VETERAN CAR GUIDE
Hagerty ’ s 1903 Knox .
James & Browne James & Browne Ltd of Hammersmith , London , England was registered in January 1902 . It made an 18hp four-cylinder and a 9hp twin-cylinder , with the engine under the front seats .
Knox Knox started his company in 1900 to make internalcombustion air-cooled cars . At first these were threewheelers , but by 1902 four-wheelers were appearing , and from 1903 only four-wheelers were made . The air cooling was by two-inch steel rods instead of fins , gaining the name ‘ Old Porcupine ’.
Gladiator The Société Gladiator , Seine , France , was founded by Paul Aucoq and Alexandre Darracq to make bicycles at low cost . Harvey du Cros and Ernest Hooley bought out Gladiator and added light cars to the range . These had a 4hp single-cylinder , rear-mounted engine , but by 1899 the engines were at the front and were Aster units . They had wheel steering and were also sold as Clément because Adolphe Clément was on the board until 1903 . By then , it was making 1000 cars a year , of which 80 percent were sold in England .
Haynes-Apperson Apperson Brothers had premises at Kokomo , Indiana , USA . Elwood Haynes , a talented metallurgist who invented stainless steel , approached them to build his first car . The Haynes-Apperson Company was incorporated in May 1898 . The cars were powered by 5hp engines , and the ‘ heavy parts ’ were made of aluminium alloy .
Humber and Humberette Thomas Humber was a bicycle manufacturer in Coventry . He moved to Motor Mills , and in 1901 started to make Humber cars with a De Dion engine and a single-spoked steering wheel . In 1903 , the Humberette appeared , being built at both Coventry ( price £ 125 ) and Beeston ( a deluxe version priced at £ 147 ).
Hurtu The company was founded in 1880 as Hurtu , Haution et Diligeon , as a maker of sewing machines and bicycles . The first car , a version of a Léon Bollée tri-car , was made in 1896 , followed by a version of the German Benz the following year . In 1900 , the Benz was replaced by a new model powered by a 3.5hp De Dion-Bouton engine .
Lacoste et Battmann Lacoste et Battmann had their beginnings in 1897 when Jacques Lacoste founded a business at Levallois , Paris under the name of J . Lacoste & Cie . Emile Battmann joined the concern in 1900 , at which point there was a change of name to Lacoste et Battmann . Mechanical components were manufactured as well as complete cars usually equipped with De Dion or Aster engines . These were re-badged by scores of ‘ manufacturers ’ around Europe . Standard configurations of 6hp and 8hp engines were available . Later , larger-engined vehicles were available bearing the Lacoste et Battmann brand .
Lambert Lambert & Cie offered 8hp De Dion-Bouton-engined cars , or alternatively with 10hp and 12hp two-cylinder engines by Abeille or Aster . All had shaft drive , artillery wheels and two- or four-seater bodies .
Lanchester Frederick William Lanchester built cars in Birmingham . He was a very clever engineer and original thinker . One of eight children , his brothers George and Frank joined him , and four models of two-cylinder cars were offered in 1904 . By that time , customers were expecting four-cylinder cars , and the first appeared at the end of 1904 . The engine was front-mounted and vertical , and situated between the front seats , giving a bonnetless appearance .
Léon Bollée Popularly known for the production of a three-wheeler that it named a voiturette . Amédée Bollée Senior was the major French pioneer steam vehicle maker from the 1870s . His sons , Léon and Amédée Junior , accompanied their father in the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race in their 15-year-old steam carriage . The voiturette , which had a horizontal air-cooled single-cylinder engine , frame mounted and with hot tube ignition , was built by the sons . The engine was very noisy and the
40 The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run