Rippon Bros.

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Bentley 3½ Liter Aero Sports Saloon by Rippon (1934)

Rippon Bros. is considered the UK's oldest coachbuilding company . Founded in York in 1555 , it existed until 1970. In the 20th century the company, which was last based in Huddersfield , manufactured high-quality bodies for luxury automobiles.

history

Bentley 4.25 Liter Saloon (1936)

The company was founded in 1555 by Walter Rippon. That year, Rippon built the first UK-made carriage for the Earl of Rutland. Until the early years of the 20th century, Rippon produced high-quality carriages, many of which were based on orders from the British royal family, starting in 1564 with Queen Elizabeth I.

Rippon manufactured the first automobile body in 1905. Even before the First World War , the automobile business became the focus of the company. Since the 1920s, Rippon concentrated on chassis from Bentley , Daimler and Rolls-Royce ; occasionally chassis from Delage , Lanchester and Minerva were also clad. The style of the Rippon bodies is described as luxurious and dignified; In terms of quality, the structures were comparable to those of Barker & Co. , HJ Mulliner and Hooper . One of Rippon's rare, sensational creations was a fastback body for the Bentley 3½ liter, which was shown at the 1934 Earls Court Motor Show.

After the Second World War , Rippon initially resumed the production of exclusive vehicle bodies. Among other things, some station wagons with metal roofs and visible wooden planking on Rolls-Royce and Bentle chassis were created. One of these vehicles, a Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith , was tested in 1950 by Autocar magazine , which commented on quality: "Every connection was perfection". Like many competitors, Rippon also suffered from the emergence of self-supporting bodies , which made it difficult to manufacture individual bodies. In 1958 the British Appleyard Group took over the long-established car body manufacturer. In the period that followed, Rippon limited himself to repair work and trading in automobiles. In 1970 the company was shut down.

literature

  • Jonathan Wood: Rippon Bros. A Coachbuilder of Renown .
  • Nick Walker: AZ of British Coachbuilders 1919-1960 . Shebbear 2007 (Herridge & Sons Ltd.) ISBN 978-0-9549981-6-5 .
  • Lawrence Dalton: Those Elegant Rolls Royce ; Revised edition (1978), Dalton-Watson Ltd., Publishers, London, England (English)
  • Lawrence Dalton: Rolls Royce - The Elegance Continues ; Dalton-Watson Ltd., Publishers, London, England, ISBN 0-901564-05-2 (English)

Web links

Commons : Rippon Bros coachwork  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dalton, Those Elegant Rolls Royce, p. 191
  2. ↑ Walker, AZ of British Coachbuilders 1919-1960, p. 168: "luxurious and graceful".
  3. ^ Dalton, Rolls Royce - The Elegance Continues, p. 274: "Every joint was perfection".