Allard Motor Company Limited was a London-based low-volume car manufacturer founded in 1945 by Sydney Allard in small premises in Clapham, south-west London. Car manufacture almost ceased within a decade. It produced approximately 1900 cars before it became insolvent and ceased trading in 1958. Before the war, Allard supplied some replicas of a Bugatti-tailed special of his own design from Adlards Motors in Putney.
An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a type of piston engine in which the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion chamber in the engine block.
Singer Motors Limited was a British motor vehicle manufacturing business, originally a bicycle manufacturer founded as Singer & Co by George Singer, in 1874 in Coventry, England. Singer & Co's bicycle manufacture continued. From 1901 George Singer's Singer Motor Co made cars and commercial vehicles.
The Jaguar D-Type is a sports racing car that was produced by Jaguar Cars Ltd. between 1954 and 1957. Designed specifically to win the Le Mans 24-hour race, it shared the straight-6 XK engine and many mechanical components with its C-Type predecessor. Its structure, however, was radically different, with innovative monocoque construction and slippery aerodynamics that integrated aviation technology, including in some examples a distinctive vertical stabilizer.
Isotta Fraschini was an Italian luxury car manufacturer, also producing trucks, as well as engines for marine and aviation use. Founded in Milan, Italy, in 1900 by Cesare Isotta and the brothers Vincenzo, Antonio, and Oreste Fraschini, in 1955 it was merged with engine manufacturer Breda Motori and renamed F.A. Isotta Fraschini e Motori Breda.
The SS Jaguar 100 is a British 2-seat sports car built between 1936 and 1939 by SS Cars Ltd of Coventry, England. The manufacturer's name 'SS Cars' used from 1934 maintained a link to the previous owner, Swallow Sidecar, founded in 1922 by Walmsley and Lyons to build motorcycle sidecars. In March 1945 the S. S. Cars shareholders agreed to change the name to Jaguar Cars Limited.
The Riley RM Series is an executive car which was produced by Riley from 1945 until 1955. It was the last model developed independently by Riley prior to the 1952 merger of Riley's still new owner Nuffield, with Austin to form BMC. The RM series was originally produced in Coventry, but in 1949 production moved to the MG works at Abingdon. The RM models were marketed as the Riley 1½ Litre and the Riley 2½ Litre.
The Aston Martin DB2 is a grand tourer that was sold by Aston Martin from May 1950 until April 1953. The successor to the 2-Litre Sports model, it had a comparatively advanced dual overhead cam 2.6 L Lagonda straight-6 engine in place of the previous overhead valve engine straight-four engine. It was available as a closed, 2-seater coupé which Aston Martin called a sports saloon, and later also as a drophead coupé, which accounted for a quarter of the model's total sales. The closed version had some success in racing.
Paramount Cars was a British company which produced the Paramount automobile between 1950 and 1956. Founded by WA Hudson and S Underwood from Derbyshire, the company initially manufactured cars in Swadlincote with production moving shortly after to Melbourne and then to Leighton Buzzard. Two models were produced, the Paramount Ten and the Paramount 1½-Litre.
The 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 14th Grand Prix of Endurance. It took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe on 19 and 20 June 1937. The race was won by Jean-Pierre Wimille and Robert Benoist in Roger Labric's works-supported Bugatti team, in one of the streamlined new Type 57G cars, at a record pace and exceeding 2000 miles in the race for the first time.
Jean-Pierre Maréchal was an engineer and racing driver who died after his Aston Martin team car crashed in the first postwar running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race.
The Halford Special was a Grand Prix racing car of the 1920s built by engine designer Major Frank Halford on the chassis of an early Side Valve Aston Martin tourer. It was one of the most advanced British-built racing cars of the mid-1920s and had many racing successes. Halford himself was a freelance engine designer who did work for both the de Havilland Aircraft Company and Napier & Son.
Ecurie Bonnier, Ecurie Suisse, Joakim Bonnier Racing Team and Anglo-Suisse Racing Team were names used by Swedish racing driver Joakim Bonnier to enter his own cars in Formula One, Formula Two and sports car racing between 1957 and his death in 1972. Commonly the vehicles were entered for Bonnier himself, but he also provided cars for a number of other drivers during the period.
Ronald Godfrey (1887–1968), full name Henry Ronald Godfrey, was an English motor car design engineer of the first half of the 20th century possibly best known for his successful Singer-engined H R G thoroughbred sports cars built between 1935 and 1956.
The 1938 HRG Airline Coupe is a one-off British sports car powered by a 1500cc Triumph Gloria engine and gearbox. It was made by HRG Engineering Company with a body by Crofts Coachbuilding.
The Allard Palm Beach is a small British roadster built by Allard Motor Company between 1952 and 1958, with a Mark II introduced in 1956. Based on the chassis of the K3, but with only four- or six- cylinder engine options. Production only reached 80 units by the end of 1958 when manufacturing of the Palm Beach ended.
The Vauxhall 14-6 is an automobile produced by Vauxhall in the United Kingdom from 1939 until 1948.
Godfrey-Proctor,, was a British car manufacturer founded by Henry Ronald Godfrey and Stuart Proctor at Richmond, Surrey in England. Godfrey left G.N. (Godfrey-Nash) to form H.R. Godfrey Motors, providing G.N. spares and rebuilds, which evolved into Godfrey and Proctor who both serviced GN's and produced their own car based on the Austin 7. About 10 cars had been produced when the company ceased trading in 1928.
The Singer Nine is a car which was produced by Singer Motors Limited from February 1933 to 1937, and then again from 1939 until 1949 as a Roadster only. It was offered as a new economy model, replacing the earlier Singer Junior series. The "Nine" engine was briefly fitted inside the body of the earlier Junior as a solution to production problems in 1932. The hybrids are known as the "Junior Nine" and are recognisable by the cursive "Nine" badge adorning the radiator stone-guard.
Jacques Coune (1924-2012) was a Belgian coach builder who designed and built a variety of specials via his company Carrosserie Jacques Coune, and was a co-founder of the Ecurie Nationale Belge F1 team.
