Lea-Francis

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Lea-Francis Hyper Sport SS from 1928
Lea-Francis HP14 Sport, built in 1949
Lea-Francis Cars Ltd. share dated September 30, 1961

Lea-Francis was a British manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles . In the 1950s, the company also supplied motorsport racing teams with engines.

Company history

Lea-Francis was founded in Coventry in 1895 by Richard Henry Lea and Graham Francis . At first the company produced bicycles . The manufacture of automobiles began in 1903, and motorcycles were also built from 1911. Initially, they were motor vehicles under license for Singer , from 1919 - one year after the end of the First World War  - cars based on their own designs.

Lea-Francis manufactured very sporty vehicles, for example a Lea-Francis won the Tourist Trophy in 1928. Lea-Francis produced passenger cars until the beginning of the Second World War . Many chassis were individually clad as convertibles or limousines by independent coachbuilders, some also received station wagons in the so-called “Woodie” style, many of which were manufactured by Scotney . When the war broke out, Lea-Francis switched production to trucks.

Immediately after the war, the production of the last pre-war models was resumed. The vehicles were luxurious but very expensive. Despite good sales figures, the company suffered from insufficient financial resources from the mid-1950s. Success in motorsport and the production of engines for monoposto racing cars could not stop the slow decline. The last model was the Lynx Cabriolet , only three copies were produced. After around 10,000 units had been built, Lea-Francis had to stop production in 1960.

New beginning

In the mid-1980s, the company was re-established with a new headquarters in Castle Rock , Warwickshire . From 1987 the Lea-Francis Ace of Spades had been built there in small numbers . This was a vehicle based on a classic car with modern stylistic elements and partly angular design. In 1998 the model was replaced by the roadster called Lea Francis 30/230 . In the course of 2003 production was stopped again.

literature

  • Ralph Stein: The Great Cars . The Ridge Press, New York 1971.

Web links

Commons : Lea-Francis  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files