Lanchester Light Six

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Lanchester Light Six

1935 Lanchester 12-6 Sports Saloon 4330331043.jpg

Four-light sports saloon 1935 example
Overview
Manufacturer The Daimler Company Limited
Also called BSA Light Six
Body and chassis
Body style Saloons and coupés
other styles to special order [1]
Layout FR layout
Related Lanchester Ten, BSA Ten
Powertrain
Engine 1,378 cc (84.1 cu in) [2]
Transmission Daimler fluid flywheel and Wilson four-speed preselective self-changing gearbox [2]
Dimensions
Wheelbase (8'6½") 102.5 in (2,604 mm) and
track (4'0½") 48.5 in (1,232 mm) [1]
Kerb weight 22cwt
Chronology
Predecessor none
Successor Fourteen Roadrider

The Lanchester Light Six was a small luxury car in the twelve tax horsepower class manufactured for The Lanchester Motor Company Limited by BSA subsidiary The Daimler Company Limited. Announced in September 1934 [1] it was the better-finished version of an almost identical pair the other half being the BSA Light Six

The tax horsepower or taxable horsepower was an early system by which taxation rates for automobiles were reckoned in some European countries, such as Britain, Belgium, Germany, France, and Italy; some US states like Illinois charged license plate purchase and renewal fees for passenger automobiles based on taxable horsepower. The tax horsepower rating was computed not from actual engine power but by a simple mathematical formula based on cylinder dimensions. At the beginning of the twentieth century, tax power was reasonably close to real power; as the internal combustion engine developed, real power became larger than nominal taxable power by a factor of ten or more.

The Lanchester Motor Company Limited was a car manufacturer located until early 1931 at Armourer Mills, Montgomery Street, Sparkbrook, Birmingham, and afterwards at Sandy Lane, Coventry England. The marque has been unused since the last Lanchester was produced in 1955. The Lanchester Motor Company Limited is still registered as an active company and accounts are filed each year, although as of 2014 it is marked as "non-trading".

Daimler Company British motor vehicle manufacturer.

The Daimler Company Limited, until 1910, the Daimler Motor Company Limited, was an independent British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in London by H. J. Lawson in 1896, which set up its manufacturing base in Coventry. The company bought the right to the use of the Daimler name simultaneously from Gottlieb Daimler and Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft of Cannstatt, Germany. After early financial difficulty and a reorganisation of the company in 1904, the Daimler Motor Company was purchased by Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) in 1910, which also made cars under its own name before World War II. In 1933, BSA bought the Lanchester Motor Company and made it a subsidiary of Daimler.

Contents

It followed the Lanchester 15/18 introduced three years earlier and Ten introduced in October 1932 as the third break away from previous Lanchester large cars.

Lanchester Eighteen 15/18

The Lanchester Eighteen at first known as the 15/18 was announced at the beginning of October 1931. Quite unlike any previous Lanchester it was their first new car following BSA's takeover of The Lanchester Motor Company Limited in January 1931. A medium sized car was a new departure for Lanchester.

Lanchester Ten

The Lanchester Ten and Lanchester Eleven were sold by The Lanchester Motor Company Limited from the Ten's announcement in September 1932 until 1951. Quite different from previous Lanchesters, the Ten was the second of Lanchester's new owner's new Daimler-linked Lanchester range. The names Ten and Eleven referred to the engine's rating for the annual tax and did not relate to the engine's power output.

Rear view of six-light saloon Lanchester mot 2.jpg
Rear view of six-light saloon
Rear view of four-light sports saloon 1935 Lanchester 12-6 Sports Saloon 4330332737.jpg
Rear view of four-light sports saloon

This model was to become the Fourteen or Roadrider in 1937

Engine

Lanchester Light Six engine
Overview
Manufacturer The Daimler Company Limited
Also called BSA Light Six
Layout
Configuration 6-cylinder in-line
Displacement 1,378 cc (84.1 cu in) [2]
Cylinder bore 57 mm (2.2 in) [1]
Piston stroke 90 mm (3.5 in) [1]
Cylinder block alloy Cast-iron with integral head, mounted on a two-piece aluminium crankcase [2]
Cylinder head alloy Integral head with block
Aluminium-alloy pistons [2]
Valvetrain ohv operated by pushrods from a chain-driven camshaft [2]
Combustion
Fuel system S.U. carburettor
Fuel type Petrol [2]
Oil system full pressure lubrication [2]
Cooling system water thermostatically controlled with pump and fan to radiator [2]
Output
Power output 34 bhp (25 kW; 34 PS) @3,600 rpm [2]
Tax rating 12.09 hp [1]

The new engine design was on the same general lines as the Lanchester Eighteen (not 15/18) though with a chain-driven dynamo and a much reduced bore and stroke taking down the swept volume from 2,390 cubic centimetres (146 cu in) to 1,378 cubic centimetres (84 cu in)

Chassis

The larger twelve horsepower six-cylinder engine was mounted in the chassis of the ten horsepower four-cylinder Lanchester Ten. Steering was by cam and lever, brakes were mechanical. Tyres specified were 5 inch on 18 inch wheels.

The most popular bodywork styles were the saloons. These were available as both 'six light' and 'four light' versions, the term 'light' here referring to the side windows. The six-light had a longer roofline with a third side window behind the rear door, the four-light sports saloon had a fixed head canvas body above the waistline.

Prices

Tickford company

Tickford is an automobile engineering and testing company with an almost two century-long history of coachbuilding and is now famous for tuning and such products as the 140 mph Tickford Turbo Capri.

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BSA Ten

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The BSA Light Six was a small car in the twelve tax horsepower class manufactured for BSA Cars by BSA subsidiary The Daimler Company Limited. Announced in September 1934 it was a cheaper and less well-finished version of the Lanchester Light Six

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cars Of 1935.The Times, Friday, 21 September 1934; pg. 17; Issue 46865. (1334 words)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Specifications. The Times, Tuesday, 2 April 1935; pg. 65; Issue 47028.
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