Edward Turner (engineer)

Edward Turner (born January 24, 1901 in London , † August 15, 1973 ) was a British engineer and businessman.

Professional background

Edward Turner developed his first motorcycle in 1927, which had a 350 cm³ OHV engine. In 1928 he went to Ariel and was given a free hand by Jack Sangster to develop a motorcycle with a four-cylinder engine , which was called Ariel Square Four . His supervisor at the time was Val Page . 1930 was Edward Turner briefly unemployed, as Ariel in the bankruptcy went, but the company has continued already 1931st

When Jack Sangster took over Triumph in 1936 , Edward Turner became chief engineer and managing director and thus successor to Val Page. Edward Turner adjusted the variety of types and only kept three sports motorcycles in the program. In July 1937, he presented the Triumph Speed ​​Twin, a powerful motorcycle with a two-cylinder engine . It was a sales success for Triumph. In 1941 he designed the spring hub , which was only used in the 1948 Triumph models.

In 1942, after a falling out with Jack Sangster, Edward Turner initially moved to BSA , but returned to Triumph in October 1943 and was again managing director in 1944. In 1948 he used a self-developed telescopic fork with oil damping on the new Triumph models. In 1951 Sangster sold Triumph to BSA and became a member of the company's supervisory board. In 1956 Sangster became chairman of the board of Triumph / BSA and made Edward Turner head of the automotive division of Triumph / BSA, Ariel, the Daimler Motor Company and Carbodies .

1959 Turner developed an eight-cylinder - V-type engine with hemispherical combustion chambers , the first in sports cars and 2.5 liters Hubraun Daimler SP250 was used. The attempt initiated by Turner to accommodate it in a Vauxhall Cresta and to sell the car as an entry-level model under the name Daimler DN250 failed in 1960. Turner's engine survived the takeover of Daimler by Jaguar in 1960. On the one hand, Jaguar built the 2.5-liter version in his limousine Mark II and sold it until 1968 as the Daimler V8 2 ½ liter , on the other hand a 4.5 liter version powered Daimler's upper class models Majestic Major and DR450 until 1968 . The Jaguar management advised Turner, however, to give up his post. Bert Hopwood came from AMC and accepted Edward Turner to become Managing Director of Triumph / BSA. In 1963 he designed a 100 cc scooter, the Triumph Tina (T10) with an automatic transmission . In 1967 Edward Turner gave up his position at Triumph / BSA and resigned.

Private

In 1929 he married Edith Webley, she died in a traffic accident in 1939.

swell

• English article from January 26, 2007
• Motorcycle Classic 1/1995