The History of Aston Martin
The Aston Martin is the English alternative to the Bugati and Ferrari. The company was founded in 1913 by mechanical engineer Robert Bamford and wealthy Lionel Martin. The two had met in 1905 as members of a cycling club and progressed during the Edwardian era to classic trials and hill climbs using the Singer sports car. Bamford thought he could improve the car, and soon began to build cars which took the Aston Martin name (from Martin’s exploits at the Aston Clinton hill climb in Buckinghamshire).
However, the partnership was not to last and Martin bought out Bamford in 1922. Soon the company being asked for replicas, but being English, they didn’t like to make a profit from their friends and the firm nearly went bust in 1925. It was saved by Lord Charnwood and Hon. John Benson, who appointed Italian born Augustus Cesari Bertelli as Managing Director.
The company built the Ulster between 1934 and 1935 which had an in line 4 cylinder 1495cc, single overhead camshaft which featured an advanced dry sump engine. It produced 80bhp at 5250rpm, had a top speed of 100mph, and named after the Ulster TT road race. The Ulster was the best performing of the pre war Astons.
Following the war, many manufacturers were suffering financial difficulties. David Brown (famous for tractors) acquired Aston Martin in 1947 for £20,500, and in 1948, purchased Lagonda for £52,000.
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History of Indian Motorcycles
Indian Motorcycle
The Indian Motorcycle company is America’s oldest brand and was once the largest manufacturer in the world.
The company was founded by George Hendee and Carl Hedstrom, who produced a single cyclinder bike which proved highly successful.
The Scout and Chief V twins were introduced in the early 20s, and became the firm’s most successful models. Designed by Charles Franklin, the Scout and larger chief shared a 42° V twin engine layout. Both models gained a reputation for strength and reliability, which led to the saying “you can’t wear out an Indian Scout, or its brother the Indian Chief. They are built like rocks to take hard knocks’ it’s the Harleys that cause grief”.
Between 1962 and 1967, Burt Munro used a modified 1920s Scout to set a number of land speed records, as dramatised in the 2005 film The Worlds Fastest Indian.
The company is still producing motorcycles to this day.
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The History of Velocette Motorcycles
A family of motorcyclists built the Velocette and this showed through the design and quality of the manufacturing. That family was the Goodman’s, and three generations were to control the Hall Green firm over the years.
In the early 1920s, Veloce realised that in order to grow as a company, it needed a new machine of advanced specification and developed an overhead camshaft (OHC) 350 cc engine, known as the ‘K’ series, which was introduced in 1925.
By 1930, they had made their name in the TT with Junior wins in 1926, 1928 and 1929 using their OHC engine. The company introduced four-speed gearboxes in 1933 for the KSS and KTS models. However, there was a big gap between the small two-stroke and the sports camshaft models. To fill the gap, Velocette experimented with a side valve 350cc which lacked power and then came up with another classic, the 248cc MOV.
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The History of Jaguar Cars
Jaguar began in 1922; originally as Swallow and Blackpool, Lancashire seemed an unpromising launch platform for a car that became as inspirational as it did.
In the years that followed the end of World War 1, Sir William Lyons, then known as Bill, appeared to be a young motorcycle sidecar manufacturer with delusions of grandeur. He was ambitious to move up to cars, and in 1927, he used his Swallow Sidecar workers coach building skills to make bodies for Austin Sevens, giving them a status, they scarcely deserved.
Nevertheless, to the posh Brooklands crowd, even after the factory moved to Coventry, the Swallows and their successors the SS1 and SS2 were a bit indifferent. They were derided for having a long bonnet and feeble engine, and enthusiasts who may not have known any better, refused to be taken in by cosmetic tricks such as two-tone paint and a low roofline.
They believed it was impossible to build a good car cheaply, and unaware that Lyons achieved it by keeping a tight control on unnecessary expenditure rather than skimping on production or materials. As well as having a gift for how a car should look, Lyons drove a hard bargain with suppliers and costs were kept ruthlessly low.
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The History of Ariel Motorcycles
The name Ariel was first used on a bicycle. James Starley teamed up with William Hillman in the early 1870s and among their first innovations was the wire spoked wheel and an all-metal lightweight frame. The company was based in Bournbrook, Birmingham.
By 1872, the pair went their separate ways. James continued with his cycles, winning races and setting speed records and eventually set up a business with his sons. Eventually in the late 1880s, Ariel Cycles became part of the Rudge-Whitworth concern, which was itself an amalgamation of a number of small cycle manufacturers, most notably the Rudge Cycle Co and the Whitworth Cycle Co.
A company known as Cycle Components Manufacturing acquired Ariel in 1897, and moved it into the Dale Road works, along with its core manufacturing business.
It was from here that the first motorised Ariel (a tricycle) was launched in 1898 and later, in 1901, the first Ariel motorcycle fitted with a Minerva 211cc engine was launched.
From here, Ariel progressed to large and medium single cylinders and on occasions V-twins, using mostly bought in engines, or engines manufactured under licence. These included MAG, JAP and AKD. The singles from 1910 were based on the 482cc White and Poppe SV. This engine was originally bought in, but was then made under licence up to 1926.
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