VETERAN CAR GUIDE
options and a 12 / 14hp two-cylinder petrol-driven motor car, which was joined in 1904 by a 35hp four-cylinder option. Colonel Pope was involved in numerous other ventures including Pope-Hartford, Pope-Toledo, Pope- Robinson, Pope-Tribune, and Pope-Waverley.
Covert Byron Covert set out in 1902 to construct a steam car at his workshop in Lockport, New York, but the first production machine to emerge was a single-cylinder, 3hp, petrol-driven runabout with chain drive. This car and its successor, now with a 5hp engine and rear axle-mounted gearbox, were both of modest size with a 1.57m wheelbase and weighing only 159kg. By 1904, a 24hp, four-cylinder tourer was available.
Crestmobile The Crest Manufacturing Company, of Massachusetts, USA started life as an automobile component manufacturer, before launching a Crestmobile Model A in 1901, which was a lightweight runabout with a 2hp single-cylinder, air-cooled engine mounted ahead of a straight dash, with chain drive to the rear wheels and tiller steering. Later in the year, there was a Model B with a 3.5hp engine, and a Model C with a 5hp engine located under a small bonnet. Shaft drive was adopted in 1903, when the company claimed to have made 1000 cars, and by 1904 the engine was quoted at 8.5hp. For 1904 and 1904, there was also a 15hp, twocylinder option available.
Cudell The Cudell company was established by Max and Karl Cudell, in 1898. The company’ s advertisements indicated that it held a licence to manufacture De Dion Bouton products in Germany, and it also adopted the Puteaux company’ s logo. Cudell-branded air-cooled engines were installed in tricycles and two-seater
1897 Daimler
Parisienne-style vehicles in 1899 – 1900, after which the Cudell company transferred its attention to a 3.5hp voiturette, the first example of which was exhibited at the Berlin International Motor Show in 1899. During 1900, Cudell used the more powerful 4.5hp engines from De Dion Bouton in their vehicles, followed by the 6hp and 8hp units when they became available in 1901 – 1902. The 6hp single-cylinder was used in delivery vans for the Wertheim department store in Berlin, among others.
Daimler Gottlieb Daimler was at the forefront of the development of single-cylinder petrol engines, and in conjunction with Wilhelm Maybach, the first experimental vehicle was tested in 1886. By 1889 a V-twin engine of 565cc had been installed in a tubular steel frame with steel wheels which was exhibited at the 1889 Paris World’ s Fair. The Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft was formed in 1890 and over the next seven years the design of a vertical, twincylinder engine evolved for use in rail cars and motorboats, assisted by Maybach’ s invention of the spray carburettor. The Daimler-designed engines were the basis for the engines produced by Panhard et Levassor and they were also used in the early Peugeot. During 1891, Richard Simms acquired a licence to sell Daimler engines in Great Britain, which led to Harry Lawson acquiring manufacturing rights in 1895. The first British-made Daimler was on the road at the end of 1897, although French-made engines were initially installed. Early machines with tiller steering and full elliptic springs were made in small numbers, as the company experienced a lack of investment and poor management. A new range appeared in 1902 with 8hp, twin-cylinder vehicles, as well as 12, 16 and 22hp four-cylinder options. The company enjoyed royal patronage from Edward VII and underlined its desire for premium market positioning in 1904 with the launch of a 5.7 litre 28 / 36hp model.
Darracq Alexandre Darracq( 1855 – 1931) became a prominent and successful bicycle manufacturer following his decision to create a partnership with Jean Aucoc to make Gladiator-branded cycles in 1891 at a factory in north-east Paris in Pré-Saint-Gervais. In 1896, a British consortium that included Ernest T. Hooley, M. D. Rucker, H. H. Lawson and Harvey du Cros purchased Darracq’ s company, which led to him building a new factory called the Perfecta works, in Suresnes, where he manufactured a wide range of cycle components as well as four-wheeled cars under licence from Léon Bollée. Following Paul Ribeyrolles’ s arrival at the company in 1900, a light car was produced with a
52 The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run