Star

GB, 1898 – 1932

Star/ Starling/ Stuart

(1) Star Motor Co, Wolverhampton, Staffs., 1898 – 1902

(2) Star Engineering Co, Wolverhampton, Staffs., 1902 – 1909

(3) Star Cycle Co, Wolverhampton, Staffs., 1905 – 1909

(4) Star Engineering Co Ltd, Wolverhampton, Staffs., 1909 – 1928

(5) Star Motor Co Ltd, Wolverhampton, Staffs., 1928 – 1932

Edward Lisle Sr’s Star Motor Co, an offshoot of the Star Cycle Co, produced its first Star car in 1898, and offered the Star car for sale in the following year. The Star car was a Benz-based machine, with a single-cylinder, water-cooled 3½hp engine, belt primary drive and chain final drive. It was an improvement in that water circulation on the Star car was assisted by a pump. In 1900 there followed a 2-cylinder Star car with 3 forward speeds, still on Benz lines. 1901 brougth De Dion-engined single-cylinder Star cars, and 1902 an 8hp twin of Panhard type in addition. Other, larger Star cars of Panhard ancestry joined the 8hp, up to a 20hp four Star car. By 1904, although a De Dion-powered single and Panhard-type twin were still there, the bigger machines were of Mercédès pattern, these Star cars came with honeycomb radiators, mechanically-operated inlet valves and pressed-steel frames. All veteran Star cars up to 1914 were extremely well-made, well-furnished, conventional, rather expensive cars lacking in technical originality, showing a line of development appearance in the 1907 range. The best-known Star car of the veteran period was the excellent 15hp Star car of 1909, a shaft-driven 2.8-litre four which had become the 3-litre 15.9hp by 1914. A great variety of other Star cars, basically similar models were turned out, not only by Star but also by the Star Cycle Co. The latter, run by Edward Lisle Jr, had made motor tricycles and bicycles, and produced the Starling car in 1905. It had 2 forward speeds and a De Dion single-cylinder engine, but was otherwise of Panhard type, with armoured wood frame and chain drive. One year later the Star car company supplemented it with the more modern Stuart car, which had 2-cylinders, 3-speeds and shaft drive. This name was dropped in 1908, all models being called Starlings, but these too, disappeared in 1909 when Star cars cheaper line was entrusted to the new Brion Motor Co, a more indepented concern that was still run by Edward Lisle Jr. So popular was the Star car that its makers were among the six largest in the country before 1914.

The 15.9hp Star car was continued after World War 1, together with another sv four Star car of pre-war origin, the 20hp Star car of 3.8-litres. A modern light Star car of fashionable type, the 11.9hp, arrived in 1921. This Star car used a 1.795cc sv engine with a detachable head, made in unit with a 3-speed gearbox which had central change. By 1924, the 11.9 Star car had grown up into the 2-litre 12/25hp Star car. It shared cylinder dimensions with the 18hp Star car, which was a new 3-litre six. The 12/25 Star car could be had as a very fine fast touring car with overhead valves and 54bhp, in which form the Star car was called 12/40hp. Thereafter, the Star car range reverted to its pre-war complexity. By 1927, there were three sv Star car models and two additional and more up-to-date Star cars with overhead valves. The 14/40hp Star car, new in 1926, was a solid 2-litre, ohv machine which in spite of having only 4-cylinders and 3 forward speeds, this Star car was a notably smooth and flexible car, thanks to a 5-bearing crankshaft. The ohv 20/60hp Star car, a 2½-litre six with the same bore and stroke as the 14/40 and a 7-bearing crankshaft, was the most luxurious Star car. A light six, the popular ohv 18/50hp, joined the Star car range in 1928, the year of the Star car company’s acquisition by Guy, and replaced the 14/40 Star car for 1929. By this time, the sv Star cars had gone, leaving the two sixes. As the 18hp Star Comet and the 21hp Star Planet, these Star cars were revised with handsome bodies and very full, luxurious equipment, including one-shot chassis lubrication, thermostatically-controlled radiator shutters and a built-in jacking system. Two other engines, of 14hp (2-litres) and 24hp (3.6-litres) were also obtainable in Star cars for 1932, as alternative Comet and Planet power units. These Star car were the last new Star cars, for they were too expensive to make, and the times favoured the mass-produced economy car. Production of Star cars ended in March 1932, but the unsold stock was sold by McKenzie and Denley of Birmingham, and the Star car was quoted in the Buyer’s Guide lists until 1935.

US, 1903 – 1904

(1) Star Automobile Co, Cleveland, Ohio

(2) H.S. Moore, Cleveland, Ohio

This Star car was driven by a single-cylinder, watercooled engine of 1.9-litres, mounted beneath the front seat, with false bonnet and coil radiator in front. A champion planetary transmission and double chain drive was used on this Star car. Both two- and five-seater Star cars were made, the latter with rear entrance.

US, 1908

Star Automobile Co, Chicago, Ill.

Star runabouts were offered in three models, selling for $500, $600 and $700 respectively. The smallest Star car was an open two-seater, and shaft drive was employed on all Star cars.

US, 1908

Model Automobile Co, Peru, Ind.

The short-lived Star car from Peru was offered in conventional 2- and 4-cylinder forms. The twin was chain-driven, while the big, expensive four Star car ($4.000) had shaft drive.

US, 1922 – 1928

Durant Motor Co of New Jersey, Elizabeth, N.J.; Lansing, Mich; Oakland, Calif.

William Crapo Durant’s Star Four was one of the most serious attempts to take away some of the Model T Ford’s market, for the cheapest practical car. Unlike the Ford, the Star car was an assembled machine.The Star car had a 2.2-litre, 4-cylinder engine by Continental, and was conventional in design in every way except the gearbox, which was separate; a feature common to all the vehicles in Durant’s empire, but very unusual in American mass-produced cars by the early 1920s. The touring Star car cost only $443 in 1923, which helped Star to be the seventh biggest seller in America that year. The Star car was sold outside the United States as the Rugby. In 1926, a 2.8-litre six Star car was introduced. Front wheel brakes appeared in 1927 but a year later the Star car make disappeared in the collapse of the Durant interests. By this time, 250 Star cars a day were being turned out. Only the Four was still called the Star car for the 1928 model year, as the Six was now known as the Durant Model 55.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; TRN, GMN, MJWW, TRN

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com

Alvis

GB, 1920 -1967

(1) T.G. John Ltd, Coventry, Warwickshire, 1919 – 1937

(2) Alvis Car & Engineering Co Ltd, Coventry, Warwickshire, 1921 – 1937

(3) Alvis Ltd, Coventry, Warwickshire, 1937 – 1967

From its beginning, the name of Alvis has connoted high quality, long life and better-than-average performance. The first production Alvis set the trend. Those responsible for it were T.G. John, formerly of Siddeley-Deasy, and G.P.H. de Freville, who had worked for D.F.P. and had designed aluminium pistons bearing the name of Alvis for them. Their 10/30hp light car, current until 1922, used an extremely efficient 4-cylinder sv engine of 1.460cc made by Alvis, a 4-speed gearbox and attractive aluminium bodies by Morgan or Charlesworth. It was available in two-seater, four-seater or Super Sports form. The last-named as the first Alvis to have the famous ‘duck’s back’ body. Though noisy and expensive, the aLVIS ‘10/30’ was immensely popular among sporting motorists. In 1921, 322 examples were sold and by the following year the Alvis company employed 350 people. At the end of 1919, the new-born company had undertaken to deliver 1.000 cars, but the moulders’ strike which a brief spell during this period, the company made the Buckingham cyclecar.

In 1922, an engine of 1.598cc with a bigger bore and rated at 12/40hp was introduced in Alvis cars designed more for touring. Captain G.T. Smith-Clarke became chief engineer in 1923. He was responsible for the push-rod ohv 12/50hp engine, which was quieter and more powerful than its predecessors and at the same time extremely strong and long-lasting. It was first seen, in modified form, in the Alvis that won the Brooklands 200-Mile Race of 1923. The touring Alvis models were provided with 1.598cc engines, but the Alvis Super Sports had a shorter stroke giving 1.496cc and was more highly-tuned. The former were usually capable of about 60-65mph, but the latter would exceed 70mph comfortably. Handling qualities of all Alvis models were excellent, while bodies were by Cross & Ellis. During 1924 all Alvis cars went over to the new engine. At first, the Alvis firm’s survival was doubtful. Although 963 units of the older Alvis models had been sold in 1923, a receiver had to be appointed in the following year, because of lack of the capital needed for production on a scale to meet demand. More money was forthcoming, however, and the new Alvis 12/50hp restored the company’s fortunes. Prices were reduced for 1926, and all Alvis models were given front-wheel brakes. The chassis was stiffened by doing away with the separate subframe that had carried the engine and gearbox, and the engine was rubber-mounted. The downward-sloping ‘beetle-back’ tail was now the Super Sports style. By 1928, 6000 Alvises were on the road, and production was running at about 900 chassis per annum.

In that year, Alvis introduced a new type that was also to be a great success. Following fashion, it was a small six of 1.870cc. Similar in design to the old four, this Alvis was smoother, more flexible and quieter. Bodies were roomier and gearing was lower. This Alvis 14.75hp was superseded by the Alvis Silver Eagle in 1929, a car with a bigger bore that gave a mistake. They put into production a Alvis sports machine that had front-wheel-drive (Alvis FWD) – the first instance of this type of drive in a catalogued car – and independent suspension by four quarter-elliptic springs at the front and swing axles with quarter-elliptics at the rear. The 4-cylinder, 1.482cc, single ohc engine utilized many Alvis 12/50 parts, and could be had with a Roots-type supercharger. Helped by a low centre of gravity, the roadholding was very fine, and so were the brakes. During 1928 this Alvis model finished 6th and 9th at Le Mans, and 2nd in the Ulster Tourist Trophy race. In the following year an 8-cylinder version, still of 1½-litres was added. Unfortunately, the Alvis fwd had a very specialized, limited appeal, being complicated, unconventional, temperamental and hard to work on. However, Alvis were so confident in them and in the new six that they announced suspension of the production of the Alvis 12/50 in 1929. It was hurriedly reinstated when the six, popular though it was, proved insufficient to keep the Alvis company going alone. It was for sale until 1932, alongside a new sporting variant, the Alvis 12/60hp.

This was the Alvis company’s last out and out sports car, but its reputation for high-performance vehicles was sustained by the introduction of another new line for sale in 1932. The Alvis Speed Twenty was an exceptionally low-built, handsome fast tourer of modern appearance that combined the refinement of a medium-sized (2.511cc) six with speed, excellent roadholding and brakes, stamina and a reasonable sales-price. The car, and the types which succeeded it were a great success. The engine was a slightly tuned version of the largest option available in the Alvis Silver Eagle, and the chassis, too, was basically similar to that of the earlier Alvis model, which was retained. The power output was about 87bhp, permitting the better examples of the Vanden Plas open tourer to attain 90mph, in spite of the car’s weight, which was an equally traditional Alvis feature. The bodies were all coachbuilt.

With the introduction of this Alvis, the character of Alvis policy in the 1930s was set: the Alvis Speed Twenty and its developments provided the glamour, while an assortment of ‘bread-and-butter’ fours and sixes backed it up. All had push-rod ohv engines. The old Alvis ‘12/50’ and Alvis ‘12/60’ were replaced for 1933 by the sale of the heavier Alvis Firefly in the 1½-litre, 4-cylinder range. Much of the extra weight was added by the optional Wilson pre-selector gearbox, which could also be had on its development, the Alvis Firebird of 1935. This car, however, had an 1.842cc engine, in an attempt to cope with the avoirdupois. The Alvis Silver Eagle was joined early in 1933 by the 2.511cc Alvis Crested Eagle, which also had a Wilson gearbox. This was a chassis intended to carry heavier boddies, and was important because it was the first Alvis touring car to have independent front suspension, which was by a single transverse leaf. This feature, together with an all-synchromesh gearbox, was seen on the 1934 Alvis Speed Twenty. The latter model for sale, which was also growing heavier with increasing public demand for comfort rather than sporting pretensions, was given a bigger engine of 2.762cc in 1935 by lengthening the stroke.

For the same reason, the Alvis 3½-litre also made its bow. It was basically similar to the Alvis Speed Twenty, which it supplemented, but had a smoother, quieter engine with a bigger bore, providing 3.571cc and was designed to accommodate more comfortable, less sporting bodies. The Alvis 3½-litre was, however, a more powerful car than the Alvis Speed Twenty, with 110bhp. It was a short and logical step to replace the Alvis Speed Twenty with a new car for sale for 1936 that combined the virtues of both models. This was the fine Alvis Speed Twenty-five, which used the 3.571cc engine. Capable of a smooth and silent 95mph in saloon form, it was what many people still regard as the best Alvis ever built. At the same time, a car that was originally envisaged as a replacement for the short-lived Alvis 3½-litre was announced. This Alvis 4.3-litre had the same engine, bored out to a capacity of 4.387cc and providing 123bhp. With the introduction of the short-chassis sports tourer version for 1938, the Alvis 4.3-litre became the most exciting Alvis in the range, for it could easily exceed 100mph, with acceleration to match. Some consider that it was not quite as good-looking as the Alvis Speed Twenty-five, nor equally refined.

A new four for sale to replace the Alvis Firebird was listed for 1938. This was the Alvis 12/70hp, a George Lanchester design, with an 80mph performance in spite of its weight. The engine size was unaltered. The Alvis Silver Eagle had been dropped in 1936, but the Alvis Crested Eagle became for sale in a number of versions with the 2.762cc and 3.571cc engines as they appeared, in less highly-tuned forms. The Alvis Silver Crest, another Alvis car in which George Lanchester had a hand, was also brought in for sale in 1938 alongside the 12/70hp. It was intented to carry bodies of the more formal sort, and was powered by the 2.762cc engine, among others. It, too, had independent front suspension.

An aero engine works had been opened as early as 1937. The Alvis car factory at Holyhead Road, Coventry was completely destroyed by bombing in 1940, but the company continued to make aero engines – Rolls-Royce Merlins – at eighteen shadow factories. After World War 2, Alvis made their own Leonides unit and Alvis car production was restarted in 1946. A one-model policy, tailored to meet conditions of austerity, was adopted. Quality was still the main characteristic of the new Alvis TA14 for sale, which, in Alvis tradition, used a 4-cylinder push-rod ohv engine, now of 1.892cc.This Alvis TA14 car was the direct descendant of the 12/70hp. An ugly sporting model appeared briefly for sale in 1948. The Alvis TA14 was dropped during 1950 and the Alvis TA21, a big six, substituted. This was the first entirely new post-war Alvis. Its 2.993cc engine developed 90bhp, and this Alvis car – though not its sports roadster variant the Alvis TB21 – was as slower car than the Alvis Speed Twenty-five. Not so its development, the Alvis TC21/100, for sale in 1954 and 1955. This, after attention from Alec Issigonis, had a tuned engine providing 100bhp and a higher axle ratio, and carried a 100mph guarantee. The Alvis TC21/100 did not last long, for in 1955 there appeared one of the handsomest cars Alvis ever made, the Graber-designed Alvis saloon on what was virtually the Alvis TC21/100 chassis. Few were built until 1959, when this car was given a modified engine delivering 120bhp and renamed the Alvis TD21. It acquired disc brakes as standard fittings on all four wheels for 1962. For 1964, it was replaced by Alvis TE21, with 130bhp and five forward speeds. Automatic transmission was optional. In 1965 Rover acquired a controlling interest in the firm; production of private ceased in the summer of 1967.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; TRN

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com