14 defunct British car manufacturers lost to time

14 British car manufacturers that no longer exist – and that we would love to see rise from the proverbial dead.

There’s something about the classic car look that we just love.

Sure, they’re not fuel efficient, or aerodynamic, or safe when compared to a modern car lease. But the aesthetic of these old nineteenth-century motors? Utterly unmatched. You can keep your Teslas and your Kias and your Genesis’ – we’re taking a Rover P3 to work.

No, we don’t want to think about the running costs of a car like that. You want me to source parts for a car that isn’t manufactured anymore? And the fuel costs? Or the maintenance costs?!

We’d be broke, but we’d be happy.

Instead, let us live in our dreamland, and take you back down memory lane to reminisce on the past. 

We’re looking at 14 of the best British car manufacturers who ruled over the 1900s automotive landscape, until the cruel passage of time (along with technological innovations and money) stole them from us and let them fall into nothing but nostalgic memory. A bit like Bing Bong in the seminal 2015 film Inside Out.

Take us to the moon, Daimler.

Who would you like to see restored to their former glory?

Lanchester Motor Company

Started by the three Lanchester brothers – Frederick, George and Frank – Lanchester Motor Company was a Birmingham-based manufacturer that fell into obscurity in the ‘50s, when it was incorporated into Jaguar Cars along with Daimler (who had made its cars since the late 1930s). 

Frederick Lanchester has long been regarded as one of the UK’s best pioneering automotive engineers, and he was responsible for building the first four-wheel British car in 1895.

The company started selling cars to the public in 1901, and over the next thirty years developed a reputation for their luxurious feel and high-quality finish. Between 1901 and 1930, the Lanchester Motor Company developed and built hundreds of cars, including the Lanchester armoured cars during World War I, and the Lanchester Forty (which was more expensive than a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost). 

But the Lanchester Motor Company was not set to last. 

With the ‘30s came the economic depression, and the manufacturer didn’t survive. The Lanchester shares were sold to the BSA Group (who had premises next door), and car production was transferred to Daimler, who built their cars in Coventry. 

The last Lanchester model designed post-WWII, which only got to the prototype stage, was called the Spirit. But Daimler was in decline, and BSA sold Daimler (and along with it, Lanchester) to Jaguar Cars in 1960. Since 2008, the Lanchester marque has belonged to Tata Motors – and there’s not much chance of a resurgence.

Triumph Motor Company 

Perhaps better known than poor Lanchester is the Triumph Motor Company.

Beginning life in 1885 as S. Bettman & Co., the company spent several years importing bicycles from Europe and selling them under their own trade name in London. The trade name became ‘Triumph’ in 1886, and in 1889 the company began producing their own bicycles.

S. Bettman & Co. was renamed the Triumph Cycle Co. Ltd in 1897, and began producing Triumph motorcycles at their Coventry works in 1902. During World War I, the British Army placed so many orders for the 550 cc Model H that by 1918, Triumph had become the largest manufacturer of motorbikes in Britain.

It wasn’t actually until 1923 that Triumph manufactured its first car, the Triumph 10/20, with a 1.4L engine designed by Lea-Francis. This first car wasn’t overly successful, but Triumph’s fortunes changed in 1927 with the introduction of the Super 7.

The company name was changed once more in 1930, becoming the Triumph Motor Company that we know and love.

But after falling into receivership in 1939, the company and trade name was bought by the Standard Motor Company in 1944. The pre-war Triumphs never made a return, with a new range announced in 1946 instead, starting with the Triumph Roadster with its aluminium body.

Several Triumph models were built during this time, including the Triumph Renown, Triumph TR2 and the Triumph Herald, with the Triumph marque proving more marketable than Standard. 

Standard-Triumph was eventually sold to Leyland Motors Ltd. in 1960, which eventually merged with British Motor Holdings to become the British Leyland Motor Corporation. Under Leyland and BL, Triumph sold a succession of saloons and sports cars, including the Dolomite Sprint.

But the success of Triumph within this large corporation wasn’t to last – the final Triumph car ever introduced was the Acclaim in 1981. It was essentially a rebadged Honda Ballade, and disappeared when the Acclaim was replaced by the Rover 200.

Along with many other famous names from the time, Triumph began to fade into obscurity after the marque was retired.

BMW are the current owners of the Triumph name, and there are rumours that the marque could make a return. Last year, Makinna (an automotive design house) revealed the Triumph TR25 concept car to celebrate its 25th anniversary, as well as the 100th anniversary of Triumph cars. 

It is only a concept though, leaving our dreams of whizzing around in a brand-new Triumph car in the dust.

Dawson Car Company

One of the more obscure marques to be relegated to the annals of time, the Dawson Car Company was formed in June 1918 (and launched in 1919) by AJ Dawson, who had previously worked at Hillman.

Hillman were one of the best family car manufacturers, and Dawson had designed the 1913 Hillman Nine car.

He was a man who knew his automotive stuff, but the Dawson Car Company only ever made one car. It was the 11-12 hp, with a water-cooled, four-cylinder 1795cc engine, available in four body styles. The car bodies were mostly made by Charlesworth and, unusually for the time, customers couldn’t just buy a chassis.

Most of the cars sold by Dawson were in the Dawson Blue with black wings – but with the cars being on the more expensive side (the cheapest was £600 for a two-seater), the company couldn’t compete with the likes of Morris and Austin.

Only 65 cars were ever made, and production ended in 1921, just two years after the Dawson Car Company launched.

Though the Triumph Cycle Company (as it was at the time) bought Dawson’s Coventry premises and fittings, no more of the 11-12 cars were ever made. Chances of the Dawson name ever being revived?

Zero.

Hillman Motor Car Company

A huge name in the mass automotive market during the twentieth century, Hillman is a name that many will still know as the manufacturer of many iconic models, including the Imp, the Avenger and the Minx.

Hillman Motor Car Company was officially founded in 1907 and specialised in family cars. 

Like many contemporaries, it began life as a bicycle company, before pivoting to automotive in the early 1900s as the automobile market began to take off. Hillman’s position in the bicycle company had made him a millionaire, giving him the money to set up a car factory in the grounds of his house near Coventry.

The first car out the door was the 24hp Hillman-Coatalen (Louis Coatalen had joined Hillman as designer and chief engineer), and it was entered into the Tourist Trophy. The car was involved in a crash and put out of action, but it had already made quite the impression.

Hillman’s first big hit was the small 9hp produced in 1913, and after selling in big numbers, was reintroduced after the war as the slightly larger 11hp. The 14hp of 1925 also proved a hit, and Hillman established itself as a big player in what was a growing market.

Along with many other manufacturers at the time, Hillman came under the control of the Rootes Brothers in 1928, eventually merging with Humber. It did become the best-known brand within the Rootes empire – alongside other big names like Humber, Sunbeam and Singer – and produced many fairly well-known cars during this time, including the Minx and, eventually, the Hillman Imp in 1963.

Chrysler took over Rootes in 1967, 60 years after Hillman had founded his motor company, and produced the 1970 Avenger.

But the name slowly began to dwindle, with the Avenger and Hunter ranges being badged as Chryslers until 1979, when Chrysler sold its European division to Peugeot. The Hunter was shelved, and the Avenger rebadged as a Talbot, before being taken off sale in 1981. 

And that was the end of Hillman.

(Photo credit: Hillman Minx Series II and Hillman Hunter Estate - Andrew Bone via Flickr)

Daimler Motor Company

Not a small chocolate that you can buy at a big Scandinavian furniture store, but in fact one of the biggest names in motoring, Daimler is one of the finest British car manufacturers of the twentieth century.

Founded by HJ Lawson in 1896, the Daimler Motor Company Limited was known for its luxury saloons, limousines, and the iconic SP250 sports car. After being awarded a Royal Warrant in 1902, the company supplied cars to the monarchy for quite some time, its name becoming synonymous with prestige and style.

In fact, every British monarch from Edward VII to Elizabeth II (sorry, Charles) has been driven around in a Daimler limousine, adding to Daimler’s high-class image.

Daimler were really one of the first to get a foothold in the emerging automotive market, with the first car leaving the works in January 1897. By the middle of the year, the company was producing three of their own cars each week, as well as Leon Bollee cars under licence. With Lawson’s claim that the manufacturer had made 20 cars by July 1897, the Daimler was the first British motor car to go into serial production.

However, after persistent early financial difficulties, Daimler was purchased by the Birmingham Small Arms Company in 1910, and prospered throughout the 1920s. 

But the financial difficulties that affected many quality car businesses in the late ‘20s affected Daimler pretty significantly, with sales falling in 1927 and 1928. The company limped along through the ‘30s and into World War II, where they once again turned to military production, but Daimler never really recovered after the war.

Despite launching several models through the ‘30s and ‘40s, and celebrating the businesses Golden Jubilee in 1946, Daimler floundered against rivals like Rolls-Royce and Jaguar. Former Daimler customers started switching to the Rolls-Royce Phantom IV, while Jaguar produced more affordable cars that shied away from the opulent-but-quite-stuffy image Daimler was known for.

Through the ‘60s and beyond, Daimler was subject to several different owners, including Jaguar, British Leyland and Ford. But it never took off again, and the marque now belongs to Tata Motors.

Tata have spoken of plans to relaunch Daimler, but nothing has really happened – and it remains to be seen what happens to this former automotive giant.

Austin Motor Company

If you haven’t heard of Austin, I will eat my hat. And I don’t wear hats.

One of the biggest manufacturers of the twentieth century, Austin got us Brits on the roads in iconic cars like the Seven, Mini and Metro.

It’s also one of our oldest manufacturers, founded in 1905 by Herbert Austin. He’d started building cars – in his own free time – from 1895, and by 1899 had built three cars, which were among Britain’s first. By 1906, Austin had his own business and his own premises, and had a car ready for sale.

It was a conventional four-cylinder model, available as a 15/20 hp for £500, and as a 25/30 hp for £650.

They were luxury models, built for the likes of Russian Grand Dukes, princesses and bishops, and Austin had a customer list filled with British nobility. By 1914, Austin likely ranked fifth in Britain in terms of car manufacture, behind the likes of Wolseley, Humber, Sunbeam and Rover.

Fortunes wavered in the interwar period, but after some financial restructure in 1921, Austin introduced smaller cars to the mix in a bid to expand its market share once more. The iconic Seven was released in 1922 – an inexpensive, simple small car, directed at the mass market.

And it was a hit.

The ‘Baby’ Austin was the most produced car in 1930 and turned Austin’s fortunes back around. It helped the company through the Great Depression and kept it profitable throughout the ‘30s.

In 1952, Austin merged with Morris, another of the big car companies of the time. This merger was a success for both, and resulted in the launch of the infamous Mini in 1959, with both Austin and Morris having their own variant of the small car, though the Austin/Morris branding was eventually dropped in 1970 and it became known simply as ‘Mini’. 

By 1970, Austin had become part of the huge British Leyland conglomerate, and the brand faltered through the next decade until the launch of the Austin Metro, a modern supermini that allowed the company to once again compete in the mass market.

But sales started to decline, and the Austin badge had all but disappeared by the 1990s. 

The Austin trademark is currently owned by SAIC Motors, who manufacture the current MG lineup – and there’s hope that this one could still make a comeback.

(Photo credit: Austin Seven Swallow - Andrew Bone via Flickr)

Wolseley Motors

Though it hasn’t remained a household name like Austin, Rover and Morris have, Wolseley was actually one of the biggest sellers of cars in Britain in the early twentieth century.

Initially founded in 1901 by Vickers Armaments in conjunction with Herbert Austin (yes, that Austin), Wolseley manufactured a fairly extensive range of high-end, large, luxury cars, and absolutely dominated the automotive market in the Edwardian era. 

By 1913, Wolseley had become the biggest automobile manufacturer in Britain, selling 3,000 cars. 

After World War One, and the death of the Vickers brothers, Wolseley continued to rapidly expand, with the company producing 12,000 cars in 1921. 

But rapid expansion isn’t always a good thing. Wolseley, getting a little too big for their wheeled boots, fell into receivership in 1927, and it was bought by William Morris (yes, that Morris) as a personal investment. Wolseley was merged into the Morris Motors empire, and it was after this point that Wolseley cars became badge-engineered Morris’.

Along with Morris and Austin, Wolseley was eventually incorporated into British Leyland, where the name fell out of use and the marque eventually vanished.

(Photo credit: Wolseley Hornet - Andy via Flickr. Wolseley 1500 Series III - Andrew Bone via Flickr)

Singer Motor Co.

It’s a tale as old as time – a nineteenth century bicycle maker hits the twentieth century, has a premonition of what is to come, and pivots to manufacturing cars instead.

George Singer founded Singer & Co in 1874 as a bicycle manufacturer, but from 1901 began producing cars and commercial vehicles as Singer Motor Co. Singer was the first to produce a small economy car that was a replica of a larger model, demonstrating for the first time that the smaller vehicle was a practical one.

The Singer Ten was launched at the 1912 Cycle and Motor Cycle Show at Olympia, and became a best-seller for the company, securing Singer’s place among the automotive greats.

In fact, the Singer Ten was used as part of a publicity stunt to sell more of the cars when Beatrice Blore drove the car up the cable track of the Great Orme in Llandudno, making her the first woman to tackle the steep terrain – and she was six months pregnant at the time. 

Singer sales continued to climb during the 1920s, with the manufacturer becoming the third largest car maker in Britain (behind Austin and Morris) by 1928. 

But this success was not destined to last. 

The Singer cars began to fade next to new models from Austin, Morris, and Ford, and with its higher, uncompetitive prices, sales started to decline in the ‘30s. The Rootes Group (another of the massive automotive conglomerates gobbling up heritage brands at the time) bought Singer in 1956, and after 1958, all Singer cars became badge-engineered models.

Almost one hundred years after George Singer built the first bicycle, the last Singer car rolled off the production line in 1970, and the Singer name was retired – likely never to return.

Swift Motor Company

If you’re going to call a car company anything, Swift is quite a good name, no? I mean, you don’t want to go calling a car company Sluggish. It doesn’t have quite the same ring.

The Swift Motor Company actually grew out of James Starley’s Coventry Sewing Machine Company (via a spot of bicycle manufacture on the way), with the manufacturer starting to produce motorcars from 1902.

Swift found its feet after WWI had ended, with its range of cars selling pretty successfully throughout the 1920s, including the Swift 15 and the Swift 10. But the company was simply too small to keep up with the big volume manufacturers like Ford and Morris.

It put up a valiant fight, with the launch of the Swift Cadet in 1930, which was the manufacturers attempt to compete with the £100 cars of the time. 

But it wasn’t to be, and Swift eventually closed its doors in 1931, never to be heard of or seen from again. Less Long Live, and more I Forgot That You Existed, in the words of the 21st century's most famous Swift.

(Photo credit: Swift Ten Swallow and Swift Ten Foursome - Andrew Bone via Flickr)

Bean Cars

Move over, Heinz, there's a new Bean in town. Not of the baked variety, but instead the four-wheeled, five-seated, with an engine and maybe some windows. A car, in other words. 

Though we reckon there's definitely a way to fuel cars with baked beans. Lots of nutritional goodness packed into those little guys.

Compared to some on the list, A Harper, Sons & Bean began making motor vehicles quite late, with their first models launching in 1919, and its first light commercial vehicles appearing in 1924.

But despite its late start, Bean was almost an instant success, with the manufacturer outselling both Austin and Morris for several years in the early 1920s with the Bean 14 and smaller Bean 12. 

But, alas, pride does generally come before a fall.

After the company suffered some financial difficulties (you might spy a pattern here), and launched an under-developed model in 1928, the company stopped making cars in 1929 – just ten years after its first models hit our roads.

The commercial models continued to be produced until June 1931, and the company was relaunched in 1933 as Beans Industries with the intent of making castings for the motor industry. This was a success, and the company once again became profitable. 

But it never built its own cars again.

And after British Leyland was broken up (BL had bought Bean in 1960), the company was eventually forced into receivership, and that was the official end of Bean.

(Photo credit: Bean Short 14 - Andrew Bone via Flickr. Bean Tourer - Tony Hisgett via Flickr)

Sunbeam Motor Car Company

If we had a pound for every car company that had started life as a bicycle company, we’d have enough money to manufacture our own line of cars (that would eventually fade into obscurity, to be written about in another hundred years, and thus the cycle continues).

The Sunbeam name was initially registered by John Marston in 1888 for his bicycle business, but motorcar manufacture began in 1901, and the Sunbeam Motor Car Company Limited was officially formed in 1905.

It was an illustrious name before the Second World War, with the company building about 650 cars a year by 1911. Sunbeam cars also set a number of land speed records, and became the first British car to win a Grand Prix race in 1923. 

But – you might see where this one is going – their success was not set to last. If it was, Sunbeam wouldn’t be on this list. Yes, we do like pointing out the obvious. 

Sunbeam ultimately did not survive the Great Depression. A period of slow sales and the borrowing of a lot of money meant that the company fell into receivership and was bought out by the Rootes Group in 1934. They really liked buying up floundering marques.

And they really liked badge-engineering.

Rootes ended production of all Sunbeam’s existing models, replacing them instead with designs from Hillman and Humber with the Sunbeam name stuck on the bonnet. Sunbeam, as a standalone marque, disappeared in 1938 when it was combined with Talbot to create Talbot-Sunbeam, before finally dropping off completely in the 1950s.

(Photo credit: Sunbeam 12/16 - Dave_S via Flickr. Sunbeam Tiger - Andrew Bone via Flickr)

Morris Motors

Now, this one you’ve definitely heard of. 

Formed in 1919 by William Morris, Morris Motors produced many of the most famous twentieth century cars throughout its lifetime, including the Oxford, Bullnose, Marina and – of course – the Morris Minor.

In fact, Morris was one of the biggest motor manufacturers of the last century, with the company’s production representing 42% of British car manufacture in 1926. This was quite a remarkable feat, and often attributed to William Morris himself.

He was a savvy businessman, and rapidly built the company through his practice of buying in major and minor components, and then assembling them in his own factory. Though Morris was definitely a volume manufacture, it was a flexible one too, able to pivot with changing tastes and fortunes where others perhaps hadn’t.

The timely launch into the small car market with the first Morris Minor (the second was launched after WWII, and it was this model that is the famous car we know and love today) helped the company weather the worst of the economic depression in the ‘30s. 

However, Morris eventually merged with Austin in 1952 to form the British Motor Corporation.

While this merger worked for a time, the BMC eventually became the doomed British Leyland (BL), and in 1984 BL confirmed that the Morris brand would be continued.

The Morris Ital (a facelifted Marina) was the last Morris-badged car, and the name now belongs to SAIC Motors. Whether we’ll ever see a Morris car on the road again remains to be seen.

But we’d like this once great automotive giant to make a comeback.

Rover Company

While the Rover name continues with the Land Rover and Range Rover, the actual Rover Company has disappeared into the history books.

(And yes, it did start life as a bicycle company. Told you. We’d be rich!)

Rover began car production in 1904, and after WWI ended in 1918, produced some of the best cars around, including the Rover P4, P5 and P6. It had a lasting reputation for quality and performance, with that romantic old English aesthetic that feels missing from the spaceship-esque cars of today.

Sure, aerodynamics and efficiency perhaps weren’t much of a thought in the early Rover days, but there’s no denying these cars have a certain something about them.

Unlike other manufacturers (namely Wolseley, Morris and Austin), Rover wasn’t all that successful during the 1920s. It underwent reorganisation in the late ‘20s in order to cater to those who wanted something a little more upmarket than the popular mass market models, but it wasn’t until the launch of the utilitarian Land Rover that the company saw true success.

And what a success it was.

The 1950s and 1960s were glorious years for Rover, with the Land Rover remaining the manufacturer’s best-selling car into the 1970s.

But, alas, like every other company on this list, it wasn’t long before the Rover Company came up against the industrial relations and managerial problems that plagued the motor industry in the ‘70s. Rover ultimately became part of the British Leyland Motor Corporation, a move which marked the beginning of the end for the independent company.

While Land Rover continued on as its own separate company and brand, the only Rover product to be launched under this conglomerate with the Rover SD1 in 1976. 

The name continued on for a while longer, given to a conglomerate encompassing Mini, MG and Land Rover in 1986. The Rover Group ticked along for several years longer, producing some well-known cars during this time, but the Group was eventually broken up by BMW in 2000.

Jaguar Land Rover, the Rover Company’s de facto successor, owns the rights to the dormant marque, but it’s unlikely there will ever be another Rover car that isn’t a Land or a Range again.

(Photo credit: Rover P5b and Rover 14 - Andrew Bone via Flickr)

Bristol Cars

If there’s one thing we’re big fans of, it’s a quirky car. Whether in stature or in name, there’s quite frankly nothing we love more.

And Bristol Cars, from its launch immediately following WWII to its closure in 2011, produced some of the quirkiest luxury cars our humble British roads have ever seen.

Bristol Cars was born out of the need to keep people in jobs after the end of both wars meant a drop in orders of British aircraft, with Sir Stanley White, MD of the Bristol Aeroplane Company, determined that his workforce should not suffer more than they had to.

With this heritage, the cars have a strong aeronautical inspiration in their design, and are powered by American muscle. It’s not a combination you’d ever think would work, but work it did, with vehicles like the Beaufighter, Blenheim and Brigand now having quite the cult following.

Bristol Cars have always been a low volume manufacturer, producing only 104 cars in 1982, and having only one showroom in Kensington, but it hasn’t stopped the company leaving its mark on British automobile history. 

And, unlike some of the other companies, there have been attempts to revive the Bristol Car name, beginning in 2015 with the announcement of Project Pinnacle, and a two-seater roadster called the Bullet. But ultimately, these big plans never came to fruition, with the car maker going into liquidation in 2020. 

And that is very likely the end of that.

(Photo credit: Bristol 411 and Bristol 405 - Andrew Bone via Flickr)