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January 18, 1919 – Bentley is founded
18Jan By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
This Day

January 18, 1919 – Bentley is founded

1931 Bentley during the 2019 Peking to Paris race While touring the French DFP automobile factory, Walter Owens Bentley noticed an aluminum paperweight and had the idea of using the same material to produce lighter cylinders. W.O., as he was known, took the idea home to his factory in North London and began producing that product for the Sopwith Camel airplane during the Great War. His success in manufacturing led to the founding of Bentley Motors Limited on this day in 1919.  W.O. Bentley The first of his vehicles would be delivered in September of 1921 and featured an innovative 4-valve per cylinder engine designed by Clive Gallop. Bentleys were soon tearing up the tracks in hill climbs and races at Brooklands. In some of the brands first major competitions, a Bentley plac...
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September 23, 1972 – Crystal Palace sees its last professional race
23Sep By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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September 23, 1972 – Crystal Palace sees its last professional race

The Crystal Palace circuit, a motor racing circuit in Crystal Palace Park in south London, England, saw its final professional race on this day in 1972. Club events would continue through 1974 before the track closed indefinitely.  Above: Surviving portion of Crystal Palace circuit. By Christopher Hilton, CC BY-SA 2.0 Top: Racing at Crystal Palace circuit The circuit opened in 1927 with a motorcycle race on May 21. The original one mile track primarily followed existing paths around the lake on the property. The road surface was made up of tarmac bends and hard packed gravel straightaways. At the end of 1936 track improvements began, which increased the course’s length to two miles.  The first London Grand Prix was held there on July 17, 1937, being won by Prince B...
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March 27, 1863 – Henry Royce, half of Rolls-Royce, is born
27Mar By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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March 27, 1863 – Henry Royce, half of Rolls-Royce, is born

Henry Royce, born on this day in 1863, began his career in the 1870s a newspaper boy and telegram deliverer. At the time, the very first feasible automobiles had yet to exist. But as he grew, so did his opportunities in the world evolving around him. In early adulthood, Royce completed an apprenticeship with the Great Northern Railway company before starting an electrical and machine shop with a friend in Manchester, UK in 1884. There they manufactured cranes and dynamos, but increasing competition led Royce to consider a motorcar as a new product for their company.  Above: 1905 Three-Cylinder 15hp. By Michel Curi. CC2.0 Top: Henry Royce A number of prototypes were soon built. One car ended up in the hands of a friend of Charles Rolls, who owned a local import auto dealership. A...
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October 25, 1972 – 3 million Minis
25Oct By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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October 25, 1972 – 3 million Minis

1963 Mini. By Steve Baker in August 2005., CC BY-SA 3.0. The original Mini burst onto the scene in 1959. The small new car from British Motor Works became an instant success and an icon of the 1960s. On this day in 1972, the 3 millionth Mini left the factory. A version of the original Mini design remained in production until 2000. The final one received a red paint job before leaving the Longbridge plant in October 2000. In total, 5,387,862th Minis left dealer lots. Today, Mini is owned by BMW and continues to make "small" cars.
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October 23, 1911 – A spot of English T, English Model T that is
23Oct By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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October 23, 1911 – A spot of English T, English Model T that is

A Model T Depot Hack in England. The Ford Motor Company began  intercontinental production on this day in 1911 when the first English Ford Model T left a factory in Trafford Park, Manchester, England, the first Ford assembly plant outside of North America. Three years after production started here, Britain’s received its first moving assembly line at the plant. This allowed the factory to pump out more than 20 Ford Model T cars per hour.  Trafford Park Ford plant An expansion of the plant after World War I significantly increased manufacturing capabilities. By the beginning of the 1920s, 41 percent of all registered cars in Britain were Fords. To further improve production numbers, Henry Ford demanded a a plant with better access to a deep water port. His dream came true with the...
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September 28, 1949 – The Jowett Jupiter debuts
28Sep By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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September 28, 1949 – The Jowett Jupiter debuts

It’s a small car with a big name. Jowett Cars Ltd debuted their first and only sports car, the Jupiter, on this day in 1949 at the London Motor Show. The Jupiter was designed in just four months by Austrian engineer Dr. Robert Eberan von Eberhorst and Jowett’s own body stylist Reg Korner. In total, about 900 Jupiters were built by the time production ended in 1954. Despite its size and limited run, the Jupiter achieved great success in auto racing.  It was a flat four, 1486 cc engine that powered a Jupiter to a class win at the 1950 Le Mans 24 Hour race and the 1951 Monte Carlo International Rally. It also nabbed an overall win in the 1951 Lisbon International Rally, and a class one-two win in the public road race at Dundrod in Northern Ireland in September 1951, just to name a fe...
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June 29, 1985 – John Lennon’s psychedelic Rolls-Royce goes to auction
29Jun By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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June 29, 1985 – John Lennon’s psychedelic Rolls-Royce goes to auction

Imagine there’s no...eh, it’s got it all. It, being the Rolls-Royce originally owned by Beatle John Lennon, which sold at auction for $2,229,000 on this day in 1985. Lennon purchased the Rolls-Royce Phantom V Limousine at age 25, making it just the second car he ever purchased, the first was a 1965 Ferrari 330 GT just six months earlier. As luxurious as the RR was, it just didn’t suit his taste when it left the factory. Lennon soon had his way with it. He converted the rear seat into a fold down bed, tinted the windows and installed a TV. He also added telephone, refrigerator and a custom sound system. Of course, the original black paint simply wouldn’t do either. Inspired by a psychedelically themed camper he purchased for his garden, he hired the same gypsies who hand painted it to ...
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September 8, 1986 – Nissan opens its first plant in the UK
8Sep By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
Business

September 8, 1986 – Nissan opens its first plant in the UK

Today marks 30 years since Nissan opened its first manufacturing and assembly plant in the United Kingdom, the first Japanese automaker to do so. The factory in Sunderland took nearly five years to get built, but as a rumors flew, the bargaining began and on this day in 1986 Prime Minister Mrs. Margaret Thatcher opened the factory. The story of how the plant came to be is honestly quite interesting, when told by the right people. That’s why I recommend you read this article from the Sunderland Echo, the local paper there in the UK. https://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/as-nissan-celebrates-30-years-on-wearside-we-look-at-how-the-deal-was-done-1-8104512
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