Hampton Cars

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Hampton Cars
legal form
founding 1912
resolution 1933
Seat Stroud , UK
management W. Paddon
Branch Automobile manufacturer

Hampton Cars Ltd. logo
Hampton 10 hp from 1914
Hampton 12/40 hp from 1928

The Hampton Cars Ltd. was a British automobile manufacturer , the Hampton Engineering Company in Kings Norton (Birmingham) between 1912 and 1918 and then until 1933 as Hampton Cars in Stroud (Gloucestershire) .

history

The company was founded by William Paddon from Hampton-in-Arden (Warwickshire) , who sold automobiles there and offered to build light vehicles and motorcycles. It is not known how many of these he made. In 1912 the Crowdy Car Company in Birmingham had to file for bankruptcy. The remainder of this company was merged with the Hampton Engineering Company and production was built in Kings Norton. The Crowdy 12/14 hp got a larger 1726 cc engine and became the Hampton 12/16 hp . A belt-driven cycle car , the Hampton 8 hp , obviously designed by Paddon and equipped with an air-cooled V2 engine with 968 cm³, completed the range in 1913. In 1914 the Hampton 10 hp followed with a water-cooled 1244 cm³ engine and cardan shaft . Production was stopped when the First World War broke out and the company had to file for bankruptcy in 1915.

In 1919 the company was re-established as a joint venture by William Paddon and Charles Apperley from the Stroud Metall and Plating Company and production was relocated to Stroud. The first post-war automobile was the Hampton 11.9 hp with a Dorman four-cylinder engine with 1496 cm³ or 1795 cm³ displacement. After only a few copies had been produced, the financial means were no longer sufficient and the company was taken over by its main shareholder John Daniel and renamed Hampton Engineering Company (1920) Ltd. registered. William Paddon left the company and joined the Autocrat Light Car Company in Birmingham.

William Millward , who came from Charron-Laycock , took over the position of plant manager in 1923 and John Leno , son of variety star Dan Leno , became sales director. Although Hampton now manufactured around 300 automobiles a year, the company had to file for bankruptcy again in 1924, but was renamed by Millward and Leno as Stroud Manufacturing Company Ltd. newly founded. A new, larger model, the Hampton 14 hp , also with a 1496 cc engine, but which came from Henry Meadows , was announced.

In 1925 the bankruptcy trustee had to become active again, but Hampton returned as Hampton Cars (London) Ltd. returned to the market with funds from businessman John Hatton-Hill .

The company moved to a smaller factory in Selsley Hill and introduced a more luxurious 3-liter model with a Meadows six-cylinder engine . In addition, the well-known 14 hp - now the Hampton 12/40 hp , or with the smaller 1247 cm³ engine also called the Hampton Nine - was built. This did not improve the financial situation of the company and in 1930 it went bankrupt again.

Amazingly, Hampton made a fresh start as the Safety Suspension Car Company . Fifty in-line eight-cylinder engines with 2496 cc and one hundred undercarriages were obtained from Röhr in Germany, which resulted in the Hampton Empire Sportsman . The remaining fifty undercarriages were equipped with 2414 cc six-cylinder engines from Continental in the USA. At most one or two of these cars were completed before the company finally disappeared from the market in 1933.

During this time approximately 1,100 Hampton automobiles were made. Five of them are said to have survived.

Models

Hampton 12/16 hp

The 12/16 hp was a design that was taken over by the former Crowdy Car Company and equipped with a new, side-controlled engine. It was on offer from 1912 to 1915. The four-cylinder in - line engine had a displacement of 1700 cm³ . The company brochure shows an open touring car priced at £ 295. The wheelbase was 2743 mm and the vehicle length was 3962 mm.

Hampton 8 hp

The Hampton 8 hp was on sale from 1913 to 1914. It was a light, two-seater cycle car. A V2 engine from Precision with 970 cm³ displacement provided the drive. The car had a belt drive to the rear wheels.

Hampton 10 hp

The Hampton 10 hp was offered in 1914. It had a four-cylinder engine with a capacity of 1250 cm³, which was optionally supplied by Ballot or Chapuis-Dornier . The body offered space for four people.

Hampton 9.8 hp, 10/16 hp, 11.9 hp and 11/35 hp

This series of models was offered under different model names between 1919 and 1922. The 10/16 hp had a four-cylinder in-line engine with 1496 cm³, the 11.9 hp and 11/35 hp each with 1795 cm³. They were bought by Dorman . The chassis was uniformly 2743 mm long. The length was 3505 mm for the weaker models and 3810 mm for the stronger models.

The most common body at Hampton was an open two-seater in the colors dark biscuit or lavender priced at £ 520. The wheels were suspended from semi-elliptical leaf springs at the front and three-quarter elliptical leaf springs at the rear.

Several of these cars were used in competitions.

Hampton 14 hp

The 14 hp appeared in 1923 and remained in the range until 1929. It was a larger and longer version of the Nine (9/21 hp), the 1500 cc engine now from Henry Meadows - albeit according to Dorman design. The transmission now had four gears. Semi-elliptical leaf springs were now used on all wheels.

The wheelbase was 2743 mm, and the length between 3505 mm and 3810 mm. A touring car cost £ 500 in 1923, but by 1929 the price had fallen to £ 315. There may even be a supercharger on the later versions upon customer request, showing that Hampton still had sporting ambitions.

Hampton Nine

The Nine was also called Junior, T10, 9/21 hp or 10 hp and was on sale from 1923 to 1931. It was the smaller version of the 14 hp. However, the wheelbase was only 2,438 mm long. The length was 3505 mm. A four-cylinder engine with a displacement of 1250 cm³ provided the drive.

Hampton 20 hp and 8/18 hp

The 20 hp was the first of the new range of larger cars with a Meadows engine with a displacement of 2400 cc and Zenith twin carburetors. It was on the market between 1929 and 1933. It was also available with a Röhr in-line eight-cylinder engine with a displacement of 2262 cm³ as an 8/18 hp model.

There were five-seat touring cars and four-door sedans with prices starting at £ 450. With a wheelbase of 3,048 mm, the length was 4115 mm.

Only a few cars, probably fewer than 100, were made.

Hampton 3 liter

This model was probably a renamed 20 hp with a larger Meadows engine because the wheelbase, length and body were identical. It was on offer from 1929 to 1931. A six-cylinder engine with 2900 cm³ displacement provided the drive.

Hampton Eight / Empire Sportsman

The last model from 1930 to 1933 had a Röhr chassis with all-round independent wheel suspension. The front axle is supported by a transverse leaf spring. The cars were equipped with brake boosters. The eight-cylinder in-line engine with 2500 cm³ displacement also came from Röhr, the six-cylinder engine with 2400 cm³ from Continental.

With a wheelbase of 3302 mm, the vehicles were 4267 mm long and 1828 mm wide.

Fifty eight-cylinder engines were ordered, but probably only a few cars were completed.

literature

Web links

Commons : Hampton  - collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j N. Georgano: Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. HMSO, London 2000, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 .
  2. ↑ Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader : The International Automobile Encyclopedia . United Soft Media Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l David Culshaw, Peter Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895–1975. Veloce Publishing, Dorchester 1997, ISBN 1-874105-93-6 .
  4. ^ A b c N. Baldwin: AZ of Cars of the 1920s. Bay View Books, Devon 1994, ISBN 1-870979-53-2 .
  5. ^ M. Sedgwick: AZ of Cars of the 1930s. Bay View Books, Devon 1989, ISBN 1-870979-38-9 .