The Calthorpe
A Calthorpe
'Sporting Four' pauses by the Four Shires Stone
near Moreton-in-Marsh
Photo: Bill Brunell
Light Car & Edwardian Section
The Calthorpe
A Calthorpe
'Sporting Four' pauses by the Four Shires Stone
near Moreton-in-Marsh
Photo: Bill Brunell
| Founded
in 1906 by George W Hands, the Birmingham-based Calthorpe Motor Company,
produced a wide range of models before the Great War. The company
regularly entered their products in the Coupe de l'Auto races, but
with little success. After the war, the company concentrated on a
one-make policy based on the pre-war 10 hp Minor which continued in production
until 1931. While this small touring car was nothing out of the ordinary
for the time, the Mulliner-bodied two and four-seat Sporting models with
three-bearing crankshaft, drilled connecting rods, light aluminium pistons
and a wet, multi-plate clutch proved highly effective, giving a top speed
of around 60 mph.
George Hands left the firm in 1922 to establish the Hands Motor Company in Barn Street, Birmingham, but returned to Calthorpe in 1924. In the mid twenties, a 6-cylinder model appeared, but failed to make its mark on the motoring public. |