Velocette

Velocette logo

Velocette-KTT-Mk-8 racing machine, 350 cm³, built in 1939, at the DAMC 05 Oldtimer Festival in the old paddock of the Nürburgring

Velocette LE with water-cooled boxer engine, built in 1947, Melle

Velocette was a famous and successful British motorcycle brand. The motorcycles were made by Veloce Ltd. based in Birmingham . For a long time the company was located in the suburb of Hall Green on York Road.

history

The company's roots were Taylor, Gue Ltd., founded in 1901. based in London . Taylor, Gue sells motorcycles from Ormonde and the Belgian Kelecom Comp . In 1904 Veloce motorcycles were offered for the first time, which were probably already made by John Goodman . Goodman was of German descent and was originally called Johannes Gütgemann. Goodman's company was called Six Ways , but then changed its name soon as Veloce Ltd . He drove its products under the name VMC soon himself. It made single-cylinder models with 206  cc engine capacity in both two- and in four-stroke version . After John Goodman's death, his sons Percy and Eugène took over the plant, a daughter took over finance, while her husband George Denley took over sales. Racing driver Harold Willis took over the development, Bob Burgess took over the management of the service department.

Velocette initially specialized in two-stroke engines with displacements of up to 250 cm³, then there were four-stroke single cylinders with up to 500 cm³. Two-cylinder motorcycles in a boxer arrangement with only 200 cm³, the Velocette LE , were also manufactured for a long time. The late 500 series sports models such as the B. the Velocette Venom "Thruxton" .

The company closed in 1971.

Motorcycle racing

Motorcycle world championship

In total, Velocette was able to win two drivers ' and two constructors ' world championships in the motorcycle world championship .

 Freddie Frith (1)

• World champion in the 350 cm³ class: 1949

 Bob Foster (1)

• World champion in the 350 cm³ class: 1950

European motorcycle championship

The manufacturer won five drivers' titles in the European motorcycle championship .

 Freddie Hicks (1)

• European champion in the 350 cm³ team class: 1929

 Whale Handley (1)

• European champion in the 350 cm³ class: 1935

 Ted Mellors (1)

• European champion in the 350 cm³ class: 1938

 Fergus Anderson (1)

• European champion in the 350 cm³ class: 1947

 Freddie Frith (1)

• European champion in the 350 cm³ class: 1948

Automobile manufacturing

In 1904 the company manufactured a number of three-wheeled automobiles. Built-in motors from other manufacturers were used as motors . The brand names were Gue and Taylor .

In 1908 the company announced the production of automobiles again. The brand name was now Veloce . The models 18/24 HP and 24/26 HP were on offer . In-house developed four-cylinder engines were mounted in the front of the vehicle and powered the rear axle via a cardan shaft . The large ground clearance and a large radiator were striking. Only one copy of both models was created, either the smaller or the larger model.

literature

• Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader : The International Automobile Encyclopedia . United Soft Media Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8 .
• George Nick Georgano (Editor-in-Chief): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. Volume 3: P – Z. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 . (English)
• S. Ewald: Encyclopedia of the motorcycle. Bechtermünz Verlag, Augsburg 1999, ISBN 3-8289-5364-6 .

Web links

Commons : Velocette  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• GTÜ Society for Technical Monitoring mbH (accessed on February 23, 2014)

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c} Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader : The International Automobile Encyclopedia . United Soft Media Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8 .
2. ^ ^{A b} Georgano: The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile.