Arrol-Aster

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Arrol-Aster was a British car maker founded in 1927 when Arrol-Johnston and the English Aster company merged. The Wembley, London works of Aster was closed and production concentrated at the Heathhall, Dumfries factory of Arrol-Johnston.

Arrol-Johnston automobile manufacturer

Arrol-Johnston was an early Scottish manufacturer of automobiles, which operated from 1896 to 1931 and produced the first automobile manufactured in Britain. The company also developed the world's first "off-road" vehicle for the Egyptian government, and another designed to travel on ice and snow for Ernest Shackleton's Nimrod Expedition to the South Pole.

Aster (automobile) English automobile model

The Aster was an English automobile manufactured from 1922 to 1930. The company's car roots can be traced to 1899 when Begbie Manufacturing of Wembley, in north London became British licensees of the French Aster company making mainly stationary engines. In 1913 they became Aster Engineering Co (1913) Ltd and during World War I made aircraft engines.

Dumfries town in Scotland

Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries is the traditional county town of the historic county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South. The nickname has also given name to the town's professional football club. People from Dumfries are known colloquially in the Scots language as Doonhamers.

Contents

At first, manufacture of all the cars previously made by the two companies was continued along with those made under the Galloway badge but in 1928 a rationalisation was carried out. The cars were complex and expensive and sales were poor resulting in the company going into receivership in 1929 and finally closing in 1931. [1]

The company was responsible for making the body for Sir Malcolm Campbell's Blue Bird car in 1929 and an Arrol-Aster car was entered in the 1931 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The 1931 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 9th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 13 and 14 June 1931.

Model range

Sleeve valve

The sleeve valve is a type of valve mechanism for piston engines, distinct from the usual poppet valve. Sleeve valve engines saw use in a number of pre-World War II luxury cars and in the United States in the Willys-Knight car and light truck. They subsequently fell from use due to advances in poppet-valve technology, including sodium cooling, and the Knight system double sleeve engine's tendency to burn a lot of lubricating oil or to seize due to lack of it. The Scottish Argyll company used its own, much simpler and more efficient, single sleeve system (Burt-McCollum) in its cars, a system which, after extensive development, saw substantial use in British aircraft engines of the 1940s, such as the Napier Sabre, Bristol Hercules, Centaurus, and the promising but never mass-produced Rolls-Royce Crecy, only to be supplanted by the jet engines.

Arrol-Aster 17/50

Arrol-Aster 17/50
Overview
Production 1927–1930
80 approx produced (including 23/70 models) [2]
Body and chassis
Body style saloon
4-seat convertible
5-seat coupé
Powertrain
Engine 2370 cc Straight-6 Sleeve valve
Dimensions
Wheelbase 127 inches (3226 mm) [3]
Length 174 inches (4420 mm) [3]
Width 68 inches (1727 mm) [3]

The 17/50 used a straight six, single sleeve valve engine of 2370 cc driving the rear wheels through a four speed gearbox. Suspension was by semi elliptic leaf springs at the front and cantilever springs at the rear.

A Cozette supercharger was an optional extra costing GBP50 giving the car a top speed of 72 mph (116 km/h) and an economy of 17 mpg‑imp (17 L/100 km; 14 mpg‑US) [2]

Supercharger air compressor for an internal combustion engine

A supercharger is an air compressor that increases the pressure or density of air supplied to an internal combustion engine. This gives each intake cycle of the engine more oxygen, letting it burn more fuel and do more work, thus increasing power.

The car had a distinctive two part V shaped windscreen and was available with saloon, open touring or coupé bodies.

In 1929, a car was entered into, and completed, the Monte Carlo Rally driven by the Hon Mmrs Victor Bruce, [2] and two supercharged cars were entered for the 1929 RAC Tourist Trophy (TT) in Ulster driven by E.R. Hall and N. Garrard. Both cars crashed.

Monte Carlo Rally annual rallying event held in Monaco and France

The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte Carlo is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco which also organises the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix and the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique. The rally now takes place along the French Riviera in the Principality of Monaco and southeast France. Previously, competitors would set off from all four corners of Europe and ‘rally’, in other words, meet, in Monaco to celebrate the end of a unique event. From its inception in 1911 by Prince Albert I it was an important means of demonstrating improvements and innovations to automobiles.

RAC Tourist Trophy

The International Tourist Trophy is an award given by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) and awarded semi-annually to the winners of a selected motor racing event each year in the United Kingdom. It was first awarded in 1905 and continues to be awarded to this day, making it the longest lasting continually-awarded trophy in motorsports. Tourist Trophy events have been part of major national and international racing series, including the World Sportscar Championship, World Touring Car Championship, European Touring Car Championship, FIA GT Championship, and British Touring Car Championship. It has been awarded to races within a championship, and as a standalone event on various occasions. From 2013, It was announced that the Tourist Trophy would be awarded as part of the 6 Hours of Silverstone in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the first time it has been awarded as part of a sportscar world championship since 1964.

Arrol-Aster 23/70

Arrol-Aster 23/70
Overview
Production 1927–1930
80 approx produced (including 17/50 models) [2]
Body and chassis
Body style saloon
4-seat convertible
5-seat coupé
Powertrain
Engine 3293 cc Straight-8 Sleeve valve [4]
Dimensions
Wheelbase 135 inches (3429 mm) [3]
Length 183 inches (4648 mm) [3]
Width 68 inches (1727 mm) [3]

The 23/70 shared the same basic layout as the 17/50 but was fitted with a straight-8 sleeve valve engine. The exact capacity of the engine is quoted by various sources as between 2760 and 3293 cc. The engine was said to be vulnerable if taken above 3400 rpm. [4] The car could be distinguished from its smaller companion by a large "8" on the radiator grille. A free wheel mechanism was offered as an option.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Georgano, N. (2000). Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. London: HMSO. ISBN   1-57958-293-1.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Baldwin, N. (1994). A-Z of Cars of the 1920s. Devon, UK: Bay View Books. ISBN   1-870979-53-2.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Culshaw; Horrobin (1974). Complete Catalogue of British Cars. London: Macmillan. ISBN   0-333-16689-2.
  4. 1 2 Sedgwick, M.; Gillies (1989). A-Z of Cars of the 1930s. Devon, UK: Bay View Books. ISBN   1-870979-38-9.
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