| Armstrong Siddeley (GB) 1919-1960
Armstrong Siddeley Motors Ltd., Coventry, Warwickshire
This firm came into being through the fusion of Armstrong-Whitworth's car
making activities with Siddeley-Deasy of Coventry. Apart from the abortive
Stoneleigh light car of 1922, their products were always solidly-built family
vehicles emphasizing good workmanship, comfort and ease of driving rather that
high performance. Up to 1939 they were readily identifiable by their massive
V-radiators (except on certain smaller and cheaper versions), multi-stud disc
wheels (though wire was also used in the 1930s) and Sphinx mascots. Their
first design was a 5-litre ohv bi-block six of 30hp. This was joined by a
smaller but equally massive 2.3-litre '18' in 1922, and by a 2-litre
4-cylinder '14' - also ohv, but with the first of the flat radiators - late in
1923; this was quite cheap at #360. Front-wheel brakes were available on the
6-cylinder cars in 1924, and these also had monobloc engines by 1926. In 1928
a sv 1.9-litre 15hp six was introduced, followed by an even smaller one of
12hp and 1,236cc in 1929. Also in 1929 the Wilson preselective gearbox
(already tried by Vauxhall) made its debut, first as an optional extra adding
#35-#50 to the price, but as standard equipment on all types from 1933 on.
The 1930 range consisted of the '12', the '15', a 2.9-litre '20' in owner- and
chauffer-driven versions from #485, and the big '30'; now listed with formal
coachwork only at #1,450.
Armstrong Siddeley production was always on a modest scale, running at about
3,000 a year; one of the best seasons was 1932, at the height of the
Depression! An interesting departure for 1933 was the sporting 5-litre
Siddeley Special with hiduminium alloy engine. This 90mph machine was
catalogued from #950 upwards, and some 235 were sold over the next four
seasons, while in 1934 there was a handsome sports coupe on the later
(1.4-litre) 12hp chassis for 'daughters of gentlemen'. After the '12' was
dropped at the end of 1936, all Armstrong Siddeleys were ohv sizes and in 1939
these came in 1.7-litre, 2-litre, 2.4-litre, 2.9-litre and 3.7-litre sizes,
generally with formal saloon or limousine bodywork. Despite the 'unsporting'
character of the cars, the company's preselector boxes found many applications
on competition machines, noted users being E.R.A, H.W.M. and Connaught. The
last Burney Streamline of 1932-33 used the 20hp Armstrong Siddeley engine.
Armstrong Siddeley were among the first makers to announce a programme after
World War 2. These cars used the pre-war 16hp 2-litre (enlarged to 2.3 litres
in 1949) engine in a new ifs chassis with advanced and attractive styling.
For the first time in many years a sliding-type gearbox (with synchromesh) was
available as an alternative to the Wilson. The various models were named
after famous aircraft produced during the war by the parent Hawker Siddeley
Group; Hurricane, Lancaster, Typhoon and, from 1949-50, the Whitley. In 1953
the firm went over to a square 3.4-litre engine with hemispherical head, the
result being the Sapphire with a choice of synchromesh or
electrically-selected preselector. A twin-carburettor 100mph version followed
in 1954, automatic transmission was optional on the 1955 models and
power-assisted steering in 1956 when the range was extended by a brace of
smaller models. These were the '234' with a 4-cylinder 2.3-litre engine based
on the Sapphire, and the '236' using the old long-stroke six of similar
capacity. Neither sold (or looked) well and they lasted only a couple of
seasons. Last of all came the 4-litre Star Sapphire, made only with automatic
gearbox, though like the later 3.4-litre cars, it was offered as a limousine
was well as a saloon. In the meantime, Hawker Siddeley had amalgamated with
another aircraft group, Bristol. The Bristol cars were taken over by an
independent company, but Armstrong-Siddeley were less fortunate and the last
Sapphire left the works in the summer of 1960.
copied from the Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present
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