Humber 8 HP
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Written by Administrator
|
|
Monday, 18 August 2008 |
|
Car : Humber 8 HP
Year : 1909
Engine : twin-cylinder, vertical
Bore and stroke : 90×120 mm
Cylinder capacity : 1525 cc
Gears : 3 forward
Brake horse power : 8
Maximum speed : 40 mph
Wheelbase : 7 ft 6 ins (2.28 m)
Suspension : front and back: semi-elliptic leaf- springs
Humber is another English car company, and one of the most famous, whose origins went back to the mid-nineteenth century (1868) when they produced bicycles. Based in Beeston, in Nottinghamshire, the firm later transferred its cheap car section to Coventry (continuing to manufacture de luxe cars at Beeston), from where the first cars came out in 1901. a similar experiment had already been tried between 1896 and 1900, but without any concrete outcome. The company’s subsequent success (in 1964 it was absorbed into Chrysler UK) was largely due to its designer, Louis Coatalen, one of the most inventive men of his time, who then went on to build up a reputation at Sunbeam. The first ‘creation’ of Coatalen’s to catch the attention of both engineers and public was the Humberette, with a single-cylinder 613 cc engine with shaft-transmission. After the Humberette, Coatalen turned to 4-cylinder engines, but in 1908 the company began to take a fresh interest in medium-to-small capacity engines, coming up with the 8 HP, which was manufactured from 1909 on. Its light-weight 1,500 pounds (700 kg) makes the declared maximum speed of around 40 mph seem quite believable. Other features were dual ignition and removable wheels.
|
