Jack Chambers designed and built the first Vauxhall car in 1902-03 while managing director of the Vauxhall Iron Works in London. He resigned in January 1904 and that May patented his own car, with coil springs and a twin-cylinder engine, which he built in Belfast with his brothers Robert and Charlie, millwrights whose main product until then had been a machine for wiring the corks of mineral-water bottles.
Chambers vehicles were built by hand in Cuba Street with most parts made in-house, and a distinctive feature was an epicyclic gearbox built into the rear axle. Cars were aimed at doctors and wealthy businessmen, and the firm also built delivery vans, ambulances and hearses. The 12/16 model, built in various forms from 1907 to 1925, won awards in reliability trials and hill climbs and was exported as far as Australia, India and the United States.
The First World War brought little military vehicle work, and the company turned to munitions and aircraft parts, which wore out its machinery. Two new engine designs failed, and with ageing products and competition from mass-produced cars, the company was wound up voluntarily in 1929 after building around 500 vehicles with a workforce of about 73.
