Daimler

D, 1886 – 1902

(1) Gottlieb Daimler, Bad Cannstatt, 1886 – 1890

(2) Daimler Motoren-Gesellschaft, Bad Cannstatt, 1890 – 1902

Gottlieb Daimler was employed until 1882 as technical director at the Gasmotorenfabrik Deutz, where he worked on internal combustion engines. Wilhelm Maybach was also engaged by Daimler at the Deutz works. Daimler held shares in the Deutz company and the income form these gave Daimler some financial support when Daimler left Deutz. He moved to Bad Cannstatt near Stuttgart, where Daimler started a small workshop for research and experimentation and brought in Maybach to work for him. Daimler’s plans were to develop a high-speed internal combustion engine which could be fitted into road and rail vehicles as well as into boats. In 1883 a high-speed Daimler prototype petrol engines with hot-tube ignition were built. This was the first time that petrol was used for an internal combustion engine. The next step for Daimler was the construction in 1885 of the world’s first Daimler motor cycle, which was also the last one ever built by Daimler or later companies bearing the Daimler name. Next, trials were made with a motorized boat and sleigh before Daimler and Maybach fitted an engine to an ordinary horse-drawn carriage, modified for the purpose . The Daimler car was ready in 1886 and made its first trial runs around Cannstatt. The engine was an air-cooled vertical single-cylinder or 1.5hp with tube ignition. Further trials with Daimler engines in boats, trams and fire-engines followed.

For some time Maybach had tried to convince Daimler that they should build a vehicle designed from the start as a motor car. Daimler opposed the idea for a long time but he at last agreed to build a Daimler prototype. It was a two-seater 4-wheeled vehicle with a rear-mounted V-twin engine. The chassis was a tubular steel frame and the steel wire wheels gave the cars its name of ‘Stahlradwagen’. The Daimler car was sent to the Paris World Fair of 1889. Panhard-Levassor and Peugeot took a great interest in this car, and both firms started car production with Daimler engines and laid the foundation of the French motor car industry.

In 1890 the Daimler Motoren-Gesellschaft was founded by soon differences arose between Daimler and his new partners. This led to Daimler’s separation from the company in 1893. He and Maybach started an experimental workshop in the Hotel Hermann; this can be regarded as an independent Daimler enterprise which also built cars. Daimler successfully continued his efforts to develop a high-speed engine for motor cars. The very important invention of the atomizing carburetor by Daimler was also made in the Hotel Hermann. In 1895 an agreement was reached and Daimler and Maybach returned to the Daimler company. The Daimler cars produced were the belt-driven 2-cylinder type, the first Daimler car manufactured in any numbers. It was succeeded in 1897 by the Daimler Phönix, the first type with front engine. 1899 saw the first 4-cylinder engines. A car with a 28hp engine was entered by its owner, Emile Jellinek for the Nice Week, 1899; this Daimler car was called the Mercedes after his eldest daughter.

Jellinek was a successful business man and Consul-General of the Austro-Hungarian empire in Nice, taking a great interest in motoring and especially Daimler cars. He acted as an unofficial agent selling Daimler cars to his wealthy friends. But he was not satisfied with their performance and suggested that the Daimler company should build a high-performance car of an entirely new conception. The result was the 35hp 4-cylinder Daimler model which became known as the first Mercedes car. It was designed by Maybach, incorporating some of the principles of the P.D. Car designed by Paul Daimler, a son of Gottlieb Daimler. It made a very successful debut at the Nice Week, 1901. Jellinek had a seat on the Daimler car company’s board of directors since 1900. He now obtained the sole agency for Daimler in France, Belgium, Austro-Hungary and the United States of America. He sold the cars under the name of Mercedes – which formerly had been only his pseudonym – to counter possible legal proceedings by Panhard-Levassor, who owned licences for Daimler cars under an earlier agreement with Gottlieb Daimler himself. As a result of the great successes of Mercedes cars Daimler decided in 1902 to accept this as a new brand name for all subsequent private Daimler cars. Commercial vehicles continued to be marketed under the name Daimler, and this name was also applied to the cars built in 1901 by the breakaway M.M.B. company in Berlin.

GB, 1896 to date

(1) Daimler Motor Syndicate Ltd, Coventry, Warwickshire, 1896 – 1904

(2) Daimler Motor Co (1904) Ltd, Coventry, Warwickshire, 1904 – 1910

(3) Daimler Co Ltd, Coventry, Warwickshire, 1910 to date

The Daimler Motor Syndicate was formed in England in 1893 by F.R. Simms to exploit Gottlieb Daimler motor patents, but it was not until 1896 that the Coventry factory became active as part of H.J. Lawson’s empire. Though Daimler himself was a director until 1898, the English and German Daimler concerns pursued their separate ways. In the first two years cars were mostly imported, and early English Daimlers were 2-cylinder machines, largely on Panhard lines, with automatic inlet valves, tiller steering, tube ignition, 4-speed and reverse gearboxes, chain drive and solid tyres. Prices ranged from £368 for a pheaeton up to £418 for a ‘Daimler private omnibus’. 1899 saw the first 4-cylinder car, a 3-litre machine rated at 12hp; this Daimler had wheel steering, and the Hon. John Scott-Montagu became the first British driver to compete in a continental race on a vehicle of British construction when he drove one Daimler in the Paris-Ostend that year. King Edward VII, while still Prince of Wales, took delivery of his first Daimler in 1900, thus forging a connection between the Daimler company and the reigning house which lasted until the 1950s. Design policy was very uncertain for the next few seasons, but in 1902 there was a chain-driven 1.8-litre twin Daimler, as well as fours of 2.4 and 4½-litres’ capacity with tubular, Panhard-like radiators. These Daimler cars retained stand-by tube ignition. The fluted radiator and 3-piece bonnet, both to become Daimler hallmarks, were introduced in 1904, the year in which the Daimler company went over to large and powerful chain-driven fours with mechanically-operated side valves and coil ignition, which ran in such events as the herkomer Trophy Trials. The 9¼ litre ‘Daimler 35’ was typical, but there were even bigger versions of over 10½-litres, and Daimler advertising made much of sprint wins on the Continent and in the USA as well as at home. Some of these Daimler cars were made under licence in Italy as the De Luca.

1909 saw a complete volte face with the adoption of Charles Yale Knight’s double-sleeve valve engine and underslung worm drive, and the Daimler cars of the next 23 years were smooth, and silent, but not capable of high performance. They also changed little in appearance, since Daimler, unlike most luxury-car makers, built their own bodywork. Poppet valves were dropped altogether after 1909. By 1914 the Daimler company’s range extended from a 4-cylinder 3.3-litre ‘Daimler 20’ with rear-axle gearbox at £430 for a chassis up to a very large 7.4-litre 6-cylinder ‘Daimler 45’. Electric lighting and starting were standard on the bigger cars. The purchase of Daimler by BSA in 1910 made no difference to the cars, though the BSA itself became merely a cheap Daimler.

After World war 1, 4-cylinder cars were dropped (apart from a short-lived ‘Daimler 20’ in 1922) and the same solid conservative machines were offered in a range of fearsome complexity. There was a 1½-litre six in 1923 and front wheel brakes arrived with the 35hp model in 1924, becoming universal late in 1925, when light steel sleeves were adopted and outputs went up. The immense and stately 12-cylinder 7.1-litre Daimler Double Six was introduced in 1927; 12-cylinder Daimler cars were used by the Royal Family and persisted in a variety of capacities from 3.7 litres until 1938, the last ones using poppet valves. In 1927 the company offered 23 separate Daimler car models (exclusive of body styles), using five engines from 1.9-litres to 7.1-litres, and twelve wheelbase lengths from the 9ft 9in of the owner-driver ’Daimler 16-55’ up to the 13ft 7in of the Royal model of the Double-Six, which cost £1950 for a chassis alone. In 1930 Daimler pioneered the fluid-flywheel transmission with column selector which was used on all Daimler models from 1932 to 1956. The Lanchester company was acquired in 1931 and the make downgraded into another species of inexpensive Daimler cars for sale. In 1933 the influence of Launce Pomeroy Sr was reflected in a 1.8-litre 6-cylinder ‘Daimler 15’ with overhead valves for the owner-driver at £450, and this was followed by a series of ohv sixes and straight-8s, some of them with fixed cylinder heads. Independent front suspension appeared on 1938 versions of the ‘Daimler 15’. In 1939 there were three sixes and two eights, the top of the range being the 4½-litre 32hp limousine.

After World War 2 the 2½-litre Daimler DB.18 (descended from the ‘15’) was revived and there were two limousine models with hypoid final drive, a 4-litre six and a 5½-litre eight. A certain lack of direction punctuated the early 1950s, which saw the short-stroke 2½-litre ‘Daimler Conquest’ saloon and its 100mph variant, the ‘Daimler Conquest Century’, and also a sports two-seater. The company was reorganized in 1956, in which year automatic transmission was available as an alternative to the fluid-flywheel gearbox. The 3.8-litre 6-cylinder ‘Daimler Majestic’ of 1958 had automatic transmission and disc brakes as standard equipment and a year later came the Turner-designed V8 2½-litre Daimler SP250 sports car, a 120mph machine which broke away form traditional Daimler appearance and sold for £1.395. A synchromesh gearbox was standard. A pair of 4.6-litre V8s with traditional bodywork joined it in 1960, in which year the company was bought by Jaguar. A 2½-litre saloon using the small V8 Daimler engine in a Mk II jaguar body was introduced for 1963, and gradually Jaguar influences took over. The 8-cylinder Majestic Major saloon was replaced in 1967 by the Daimler Sovereign, a Jaguar 420 down to its dohc 6-cylinder engine, and a year later there was a new Jaguar-based limousine using the 4235cc power unit and a Vanden Plas body. The last V8 Daimlers were made in 1996, and inevitably the 1973 season brought a Daimler version of the 5.3-litre V12 XJ6 Jaguar, designated the Double Six; a long-chassis version had trim by Vanden Plas.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; HON, MCS

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

Lea-Francis

GB, 1904 – 1906; 1920 – 1935; 1937 – 1953; 1960

(1) Lea & Francis Ltd, Coventry, Warwickshire, 1904 – 1935

(2) Lea-Francis Cars Ltd, Coventry, Warwickshire, 1937 – 1960

Lea Francis started as bicycle manufacturers, like so many car makers, but unlike most of the rest, never went over permanently and consistently to Lea Francis cars. These Lea Francis cars appeared in fits and starts. The first appeared in 1904, in the shape of a 15hp Lea Francis car with a 3-cylinder horizontal engine, the oddest feature of which was its connecting rods over 3ft long. In the same year, however, Lea Francis stopped making their cars, and Singer the Cycle Company began building Lea Francis cars under licence and under the Singer name. R.H. Lea had in fact worked for Singer before branching out on his own. Thus began another famous car name. Lea Francis made motor cycles from 1911, and they concentrated on these until 1920. In that year two Lea Francis cars reappeared beside the motorcycles; assembled 4-cylinder touring Lea Francis cars of 11.9 and 13.9hp. Few of either were made. Then, late in 1922, the Lea Francis car company found its feet at last, with an equally conventional assembled light Lea Francis car. This Lea Francis car had a 1.074cc 4-cylinder sv engine of 8.9hp by Coventry-Simplex, replaced in the following year by a 10hp Meadows unit of 1¼ litres with overhead valves. A Lea Francis car with 7hp Bradshaw flat-twin engine came to nothing. There were 3 forward speeds and quarter-elliptic springs at both ends. The 10hp Lea Francis car was very popular, and was made until 1928. Like other Lea Francise cars to come, it was well made, dependable, and lively. The great moment came for the Lea Francis cars in the very important RAC Small Car Trials of 1924, in which the Lea Francis car made the best all-round performance. During 1925 a wider family market was sought with the 12/22hp J-type Lea Francis car. This Lea Francis car had a longer wheelbase, allowing more spacious bodies, front-wheel brakes, a 1½-litre 4EC Meadows engine to cope with the weight and a 4-speed gearbox. For the sake of comfort, semi-elliptic springs were substituted at the rear on the P-type Lea Francis car introduced for 1928, which also had a plate clutch and 4ED meadows engine.

The Lea Francis car firm’s first serious sports car was the L-type with 4ED engine, announced for 1925. The Lea Francis 12/40hp was one of the best assembled cars in Britain, and appealed more widely than the light Lea Francis cars. It was, indeed, current until the second cessation of car production in 1935. However, Lea Francis also made some more ponderous, less lively Lea Francis cars, without the same degree of success. From 1925 until 1929, the Lea Francis range duplicated some of the heavy 6-cylinder machines offered by Vulcan of Southport, with whom Lea Francis cars had been associated since 1922. The 18hp Lea Francis car was a 2¼-litre car with cantilever rear springs and overhead worm drive. This Lea Francis car was succeeded by A.O. Lord’s Type T, with its advanced but unreliable Lea Francis LFS-type, double ohc engine of 1.7-litres. There was also, in 1928, a 2-litre six Lea Francis car. These Vulcan/ Lea Francis cars ended with the demise of the Vulcan. However, an excellent Lea Francis car with a six was at last introduced for 1931: the Lea Francis Ace of Spades model, with their own 2-litre, single ohc engine. This Lea Francis car continued alongside the old 12/40hp until 1935, together with a new 18hp Lea Francis car, which was a 2¼-litre enlargement of the Lea Francis Ace of Spades. However, a really powerful Lea Francis car was also listed from 1928. This Lea Francis Hyper Sports was a quite different car, with its heavily-modified, Cozette-supercharged Meadows 1½-litre engine, low build and raked radiator. The sports-racing two-seater Lea Francis car could attain 90mph, though a coupé and a short open tourer could also be had by those who did not intend to enter competitions. The Lea Francis Hyper Sports won the 1928 Ulster Trophy race.

A new company introduced two entirely new Lea Francis cars for 1938. These Lea Francis cars were designed by Hugh Rose, who had been responsible for the Riley Nine engine and, like the Riley, had 4-cylinder power units with push-rod overhead valves operated by two high camshafts. The Lea Francis car had ceased to be an entirely assembled car. A 12hp and a 14hp Lea Francis car were available, with cubic capacities of 1½ and 1.6-litres. Both had a 4-speed synchromesh gearbox. A sports version of the 1½-litre Lea Francis car was also sold, thus maintaining the old tradition. These two ‘Leafs’ were good cars, and as they were new, up-to-date Lea Francis carmodels, they could be continued after World War 2. Most of those built in this period were Lea Francis Fourteens, which were heavier but had a bigger bore and a capacity of 1.8-litres. A tuned sports Lea Francis car of the 14hp arrived for 1948. At the end of that year, an export version of the 14hp Lea Francis car, with torsion-bar independent front suspension, was shown and this suspension was adopted for both the 14hp and for the new 18hp, with a 2½-litre engine, in 1950. The sports model of the 18hp Lea Francis car was a fine car, with 100bhp available. The Lea Francis cars for 1953 had hydraulic brakes, but that was the last year in which the Lea Francis car appeared as a competitive production car. By mid-1952, output had fallen to six Lea Francis cars a week. An expensive car of specialist appeal,  the post-war years were too hard for it. In 1960 a few prototypes of a new sports Lea Francis car, the Leaf-Lynx, were made, but it never reached production. The power unit of this Lea Francis car was a 2½-litre Ford Zephyr, there was independent front suspension and disc brakes were supplied, but the car was ill-favoured and ill received. No better luck attented the Lea Francis carfirm’s attempt to make the Nobel bubble-car.

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