VETERAN CAR GUIDE
four-cylinder 16-20hp model, both made by Aster. Dennis cars from 1904 were characterised by their overhead worm-drive transmission.
Durkopp The origins of the company date back to the 1860s when the owner, Nikolaus Durkopp, manufactured sewing machines in his German workshops. Subsequently pedal cycles were made in the 1880s to meet the booming demand, before the first automobile appeared in 1898. These early models were based on French Panhards, having front-mounted vertical twincylinder engines, chain final drive, and unequal-sized wheels. The following year there was a rear-engined vehicle with tandem seating and wire wheels, and from 1903 there was an expanded range with five models, ranging from an 8PS twin to a 40PS four-cylinder, as well as a six-cylinder car. These larger vehicles had vertical T-head engines, with three-speed gearboxes on the twins and four-speed devices on the fourcylinder models, along with chain drive.
English Mechanic A magazine called English Mechanic and World of Science and Art was launched at the turn of the century and featured design templates and construction instructions for cars that could be built at home. The originator was T. Hyler White. The series started in May 1899 with a tricycle featuring a 1.75hp De Dion Bouton engine. In January 1900, the first of 56 weekly parts on‘ A small car and how to build it’ appeared. To keep costs down, amateur engineers were encouraged to use second-hand materials, or to purchase components from the writer’ s friend, David J. Smith, who had a workshop in the East End of London. The number of vehicles that were successfully completed is unknown but four vehicles survive: a Benz-type two-seater, a steam dog cart, an 8hp tonneau, and a two-cylinder car of 1907 date.
1903 Ford
Fiat Fiat( Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino) was incorporated in 1899, and the first vehicles appeared that year, starting with a 3.5hp horizontal-mounted, twin-cylinder engined vis-à-vis. Engine capacity increased of this design to 6hp before the company launched a front-engined vehicle with an 8hp vertical, twin-cylinder power unit. By the end of 1901, there was a four-cylinder, 12 / 16hp model with a 3768cc engine, supplemented by a 4181cc 16 / 20hp version in 1903. By this time Vincenzo Lancia was working as a driver, and he drove the Fiat entry in the ill-fated 1903 Paris to Madrid Race. The influence of Panhard was readily apparent with the Fiat output, but by 1904 when there was a 75hp motor car on offer, there was little doubt that the company was more focused on emulating Mercedes.
Fisson Louis Fisson was one of the first generation of motor manufacturers in France, operating from a workshop in the south of Paris. He built at least two distinct types, one closely resembling a Benz with a singlecylinder vertical engine, and the other with a vertical two-cylinder engine of 2920cc at the front, driving through a four-speed gearbox and double chain drive. Whilst the engine was distinct from that of the Benz, the existence of left-hand drive, a pot-type surface carburettor, and two levers for selecting the gears, were all indicative of its heritage. A single car was exhibited at the Paris Salon in December 1898.
Flint Made in Flint, Michigan, USA, by ABC Hardy. In 1902, he began to make a two-seater, 8hp, single-cylinder roadster with left- or right-hand tiller steering for $ 850. He made 52 of these but ceased in 1902 because he was unwilling to pay the Seldon patent fee.
Ford Henry Ford started the Ford Motor Company in Detroit, USA in 1903. The first production car – the Model A – used a two-cylinder horizontally opposed 1645cc engine in a Runabout-type body and was initially assembled from parts supplied by Dodge Brothers and others. The Model A was discontinued in October 1904 when 670 had been made, according to the company’ s records. This model was replaced by three new ones: the larger-engined AC; the C with the same engine and a bonnet and vertical radiator, and the Model B, which was a completely new car, with a front-mounted, vertical four-cylinder engine of 4646cc, developing 24hp. Unlike the smaller Fords, it had shaft drive and a side entrance tourer body. In 1904, the company moved to a new factory and by 1905 300
54 The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run