Europe was to get a major shock in 1914; the motoring world experienced its minor uprising a little earlier with the cyclecar movement from 1911 and the explosion of interest in this form of transport.

The origins of the term ‘cyclecar’ go back to a series of articles, starting on the 6th December 1910, in Motor Cycling which drew attention to the possibilities of the monocar and the duocar.  These vehicles were more weather-tight than a motorcycle but less so than a car. Initially they were neglected by both the Royal Automobile Club and the Auto-Cycle Union.  The Clubs' attention was drawn to this oversight and after much discussion, a joint Committee came up with the term ‘cyclecar’, defined as a machine of three or four wheels, with an engine of less than 1100 cc and the chassis weight of less than 6 cwt.  Total weight was set at less than 7cwt.  At the same meeting, held in the spring of 1912, control of the cyclecar was given to the Auto-Cycle Union and cyclecars were shown at the Cyclecar and Motorcycle Show at Olympia in 1912.  An important exhibit at this show was the GN.  Also significant was the later generous fiscal treatment of cyclecars by tax authorities in certain countries, notably in France where a cyclecar was defined as a vehicle with a capacity of 1100cc or less and a weight 350kg or less, rather than 7cwt.

Temple Press sensed the mood in 1912 and produced the Cyclecar Magazine, later to become the Light Car & Cyclecar Magazine.  No less than 100,000 copies were sold for issue number one.

There were basically two breeds of cyclecars, improbable machines, often home-built and using motorcycle engines - and true small cars.  One of the earliest true small cars was the Bugatti-designed Bébé Peugeot. A handful of makes were available in 1911, but by 1914 this had increased to over 100, with almost every conceivable variation in methods of construction, power unit, final drive and cost.  Attempts were made to produce the £100 car, but this of course dictated a very basic machine.

The Edwardian cyclecarists, fired up with enthusiasm, acquired their new machines.  If you could not afford one, How to Build a Cyclecar was offered by Temple Press, so for the expenditure of 1/- (one shilling) you could make a start.  The Cyclecar Magazine, with almost revolutionary zeal, published article after article extolling the virtues of the new movement.  Cyclecarists formed clubs, went off camping for weekends, organised gatherings and attempted freak hillclimbs, the names of which are remembered today – South Harting, Birdlip, the Old Wyche at Malvern, Alumtree - the dreaded Scottish hill near Perth, and many others.  Cyclecarists were a powerful force – this was the new motoring.  Although there was an excess of of enthusiasm and limited funds, their adventures and activities continued right up to 1914.

After the war, in France, many excellent cyclecars, which were really 'small cars' were produced using a range of readily available engines such as the Ruby, SCAP, etc., whilst Salmson and Amilcar manufactured their own engines.  On the other side of the coin the French did not neglect the 'wire and bobbin' brigade.

A typical example of a French motorcycle-engined cyclecar was the Rally.  Produced just after the war, it was sold without an engine, the buyer having to acquire a Harley Davidson motorcycle to provide the power unit.  Many thousands Harleys had been left in France by the US forces.  Some idea of cyclecar popularity is indicated by the fact that by 1921, there were over 20,000 on the French roads.  Another important pioneer was the Bedelia built by Bourbeau and Deveux, an overlong coffin in appearance with engine at the front and bicycle wheels on each corner.  It had tandem seating with the driver steering from behind the passenger.  During the War a special model with a stretcher in front of the driver had been produced to transport the injured to hospital.  That they ran at all was remarkable, but that they raced successfully in cyclecar Grands Prix was incredible.  They did not stay in production for long after conflict had ended but some examples still survive today in enthusiastic hands.

In England, post war, the whole motoring scene was similar to that pre-war as motorcycle or other air-cooled engines continued to be fitted in chassis of dubious design and construction.  England would, however have to wait for its own small car, although many Salmsons and Amilcars were imported from France.  The typical British cyclecars were essentially very light machines reworked from motorcycle components with some protection from the elements.  Motorcycle components were readily available, inexpensive and generally well proven.  They had three or four wheels and often a powerful V twin engine of 1000 c.c. which could propel them at 50 mph or more.  In those days 60 mph was still a magical figure to most people.  The cars were often tandem seaters or monocars with narrow track, no differential, primitive steering, minimal braking and belt drive in many cases.  Even today, for the enthusiast looking back, it seemed a primitive combination.  To the enthusiast then and to the would-be manufacturers it was an exciting package, welcomed with open arms by an emerging, if naïve, motoring public.  It must be remembered that in the immediate post war period many had money available from demob bonuses but were mechanically uneducated.  Anything that moved under its own power could be readily sold.

Amongst the first cyclecars to reappear after the war were HFS Morgan’s delightful three-wheelers and Godfrey and Nash’s contemporary GN. These were two of only a handful to survive beyond the early 1920’s.  Carden, Tamplin, Bleriot-Whippet and a few pre-war survivors typified new entries in the cyclecar class.  Sadly, the days of the cyclecar were numbered.

There was no attempt to restrict the money supply by the post-war Governments, and an excess of ready money over the amount of goods available had the inevitable effect.  The price of raw materials rose by 4% per month between April 1918 and February 1919 and wages rose likewise.  As goods were in short supply, the retail trade tended to over order to ensure at least some deliveries.  The same spirit of optimism certainly also the infected French industrialists.  Prices peaked in June-July 1920 and wages peaked in October the same year.  By the beginning of 1922, Sterling prices had dropped by 50% and wages by two thirds.  The predictable result was that primitive cyclecar manufacturers, usually under-capitalized, went to the wall.

The larger manufacturers, such as Austin, were not exempt from the slump and as a result, Austin produced the new, and soon to be immortal Seven – a model inspired by the contemporary small Peugeot. It offered comfort and reliability, it was practical and affordable: a large car in miniature.  It was right first time, straight out of the box.  The British motoring scene was changed forever. 

The Austin 7 of 1922 represented everything necessary in a small car, but was itself a cyclecar and early versions did well in the cyclecar races of the time.  Incidentally over sixty different makes competed in the various cyclecar races of the early 1920s.  A popular misunderstanding is that the Austin Seven killed the cyclecar.  The cyclecar was killed by the slump; and the Seven – itself a cyclecar - was born as a result of it.  In turn, the cyclecar developed in France into the voiturette and in England it became the light car.  In England, the Seven offered comfort and reliability, it was practical and affordable; in fact a large car in miniature.  The British had copied the better French models.  It was right first time, straight out of the box.

In spite of the subsequent development of the better cyclecars into true light cars, over the years the original concept has reappeared from time to time.  In the 1950’s ‘bubble cars’ found favour in some quarters, whilst the three wheeler Bond was as bad a product as anything ever produced.

Even today in France, true cyclecars exist in the form of 250cc machines that can be driven without a license and, until recently, without number plates.  In England there are many ‘kit cars’, which, when fitted with Japanese motorcycle engines, offer prodigious performance - true spiritual descendents of the GN Vitesse and the pre first war home built machines.  However, these post war devices are not eligible for the Light Car section!