Armstrong Siddeley Heritage Trust
Siddeley Autocar
John Davenport Siddeley first became interested in the fledgling British motor car industry when he entered his 6hp Daimler in the 1900 1000-mile trial. The car completed the trial successfully, and this experience persuaded him that his future lay in manufacturing motor cars. The cars that most impressed him were those that followed the Mercedes principle. Peugeot of France made motor cars that adopted this approach, and Siddeley reached an agreement with them to produce copies of their vehicles under license.
Siddeley had developed a business relationship with the banking magnate Leopold Rothschild, whose son Leonard had an interest in the motoring scene. With their help, he formed the Siddeley Autocar Co. in early 1902. The Rothschilds introduced him to the Wolseley Motor Car Company, which agreed to assemble motor cars using a locally manufactured body and chassis and incorporating Peugeot-manufactured mechanical parts. The following images are of the only known surviving example of a car of this era.
This car had a two-cylinder engine rated at 8hp with a chain drive to the rear wheels. At the 1903 London Motor Show, Siddeley had the following models on display:
A 4-cylinder 18-24hp model and one 2-cylinder 8-12hp both had British bodies mounted on Peugeot chassis and running gear; the engine was of the vertical type. And two with Siddeley-designed body consisting of a four cylinders 12-16hp model and a 6hp single-cylinder version; both had a Wolseley chassis and mechanics, the engine being horizontal.
This is a surviving example of the Siddeley Autocar 6hp based on Wolseley mechanics simular to the one displayed at the 1903 motor show.
This model is based on a Wolseley engine and chassis with a JDS-type body. The engine is a single-cylinder rated at 6hp with a chain drive to the rear wheels.
Throughout 1903-05, the locally manufactured components for the Siddeley cars increased until he could proudly advertise that his cars were British-built and equal to any foreign-produced motor cars.
Several different types of Siddeley cars were produced during this period. Not all of them have survived or have even been well documented. However, one example has been preserved and is shown below.
This 1904 Siddeley was the first motor car registered in Malta in 1904 and appropriately was given the registration number 1, as pictured in the left image. It was subsequently recovered to the UK, in a dilapidated state, around 1968 as displayed in the centre image with the UK registration number AD 56. The final image of it, as observed in the 29119 London to Brighton run this time with Reg. No. ACL 605, together with the Malta reg. No. 1 is also displayed. Careful examination of these and several other photographs would seem to confirm that all three photos are of the same car.
The engine was a vertical single-cylinder water-cooled engine rated at 6 hp, with a displacement of 1,173 cc, driving the rear wheels via a three-speed gearbox with shaft drive. The car had a solid front axle and a live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs, a mechanical brake on the gearbox and a hand brake to the rear wheels. What is most unusual is the shaft drive direct to the rear wheel in a period when many contemporary cars used some form of chain drive.
Whilst the mechanics are almost certainly of the Siddeley pattern, the body shows a strong resemblance to the Wolseley-derived example shown above. However, the following images, using the same type of engine, show a marked resemblance to the red Peugeot type model at the top of the page.
Whilst John Siddeleys early motor cars were very much Peugeots on Mercedes lines, the new range of 6, 12 and 18hp models launched in 1905 had a very British air. In 1905, the Autocar issue of 5th January applauded the new 12hp model as being an "entirely British production" Even so, the Mercedes influence was very apparent when from Autocar's technical description:
The chassis is formed from a stamped steel frame with transverse members of H steel riveted to it. Forward of the dashboard, it is swept inward to allow a tight turning circle.
The upright engine, with a bore and stroke of 4.5 inches and some 12hp, is supported on its own frame and attached to the chassis by brackets. The cylinder heads were made of cast iron, and the water jackets were cast in aluminium. Valve operation was on the Mercedes principle, and the compression could be adjusted for starting purposes.
Very few, if any, of these models have survived, with the exception of one 1905 12hp shown below.
The contemporary images show the chassis of the 12hp model. In the right-hand image, you can see the differential located near the centre of the car, which then transfers the drive to the rear axle via roller chains. This system allowed for a relatively simple design to accommodate the vertical axle movement associated with the rear suspension system.
This new range of motor cars soon started to outsell the Wolseley products, which persuaded the directors of Vickers, Son, and Maxim, owners of Wolseley, that it was in their best interests to merge Siddeley Autocar into their own organisation. Accordingly, they made John Siddeley an offer that was too good to be refused. Thus, Wolseley motor cars became Wolseley Siddeleys.
COPYRIGHT 2019
Please note that the information contained on this web site has been collated from a variety of sources, much of which is in the public domain and therefore we claim no copyright in this site. We have acknowledged a number of sources that have been used and where possible attributed copyright where we are aware of it. However if you feel that we have infringed on any specific copyright, please let the web master know and appropriate action will be taken.
Many thanks. EMAIL: heritage@siddeley.org