Leonard Pelham Lee

Last updated April 17, 2019

Leonard Pelham Lee (1903–1980) was an executive in the English internal combustion engine industry.

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to the west and Scotland to the north-northwest. The Irish Sea lies west of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.

An internal combustion engine (ICE) is a heat engine where the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high-pressure gases produced by combustion applies direct force to some component of the engine. The force is applied typically to pistons, turbine blades, rotor or a nozzle. This force moves the component over a distance, transforming chemical energy into useful mechanical energy.

Biography

Leonard Pelham Lee was born as the son of Horace Pelham Lee on 31 May 1903.^[1] He joined Coventry Climax Engines in 1919 and became a Director in 1927.

Henry Pelham Lee (1877–1953) was an English engine pioneer.

He married Ivy D. Jones in 1933, and had a son, Charles Pelham Lee.

In 1953, he was appointed Chairman and Managing Director of Coventry Climax Engines on the death of his father, who was the founder/owner.

He was appointed Chairman (formerly Joint MD) of Godiva Fire Pumps in 1957.

Godiva Fire Pumps was an offshoot from Coventry Climax, directed by Charles Pelham Lee, son of Leonard Pelham Lee.

He lived at Park House, Warwick Road, Coventry, and was appointed the Chairman of British Internal Combustion Engine Manufacturers Association in 1960 at age 57.

He died in 1980 in Warwickshire, England.

Formula One

In 1961, Coventry Climax was dominating the British Formula One field with the successful FPF and FWMV engines, but FWMV's initial selling price (3,000 Pounds), though considerably higher than the selling price of FPF (2,250 Pounds), did not cover the development cost and the mounting maintenance cost as more and more teams wanted to run it. He announced that the situation is the equivalent of his company subsidising the teams, so that the company will withdraw from Formula One racing at the end of the year.

Formula One is the highest class of single-seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and owned by the Formula One Group. The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one of the premier forms of racing around the world since its inaugural season in 1950. The word "formula" in the name refers to the set of rules to which all participants' cars must conform. A Formula One season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, which take place worldwide on purpose-built circuits and on public roads.

As the customer teams did not have alternative engine suppliers, and thus being totally dependent on the supply of the FWMV engine, the teams got together and negotiated with Lee so that Oil company sponsorship funds would be funneled through the teams to Coventry Climax to cover the mounting costs, and Lee agreed to continue the development and support of these engines. ^[2]

This incident became the seed for the formation of Formula One Constructors Association later in the 1970s.

Dewar Trophy

In May 1964, the Royal Automobile Club presented the Dewar Trophy, which is given at the recommendation of RAC's Technical and Engineering Committee for the most outstanding British achievement in the automotive field, to Leonard Pelham Lee. The citation reads: "Awarded to Coventry Climax Engines Ltd. for the design, development and production of engines which have brought British cars to the forefront in the field of Grand Prix racing."

History of this trophy dates back to 1906. The last time Dewar Trophy was awarded before 1964, the recipient was Alec Issigonis for British Motor Corporation in 1959, who once was a Junior Engineer at Coventry Climax, on the design and production of ADO15 Mini.

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References

↑ The Times. July 27, 1960. Missing or empty |title= (help)
↑ Whitelock, Mark. 1 1/2-Litre Gp Racing 1961-1965. Veloce. pp. 299–300. ISBN 978-184584016-7.

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[1] The Times. July 27, 1960. Missing or empty |title= (help)

[2] Whitelock, Mark. 1 1/2-Litre Gp Racing 1961-1965. Veloce. pp. 299–300. ISBN 978-184584016-7.