Coventry
Alvis
T. G. John founded Alvis in Coventry in 1919, and its 12/50 and Speed 20 made it one of Britain's most respected makers of quality sporting cars. Car…
Armstrong Siddeley
A Coventry maker of dignified, well-engineered luxury cars, Armstrong Siddeley grew out of the same Siddeley-Deasy business that also built aircraft engines, and its cars shared some of…
Carbodies
Carbodies of Coventry built bodies for MG, Alvis, Rootes and others, then became the home of the London black cab. It built the Austin FX4 for decades and,…
Daimler
One of Britain's oldest car makers, Daimler was founded in Coventry in 1896 to exploit the British rights to Gottlieb Daimler's engine patents. It became the marque of…
David Brown Automotive
David Brown Automotive, founded in Coventry in 2013, built hand-made modern interpretations of classic cars: the Aston Martin DB6-inspired Speedback GT and the Mini Remastered. It moved to…
GTM
GTM began in 1967 as the Cox GTM, a mid-engined coupé built from Mini parts in a Stockport garage. Under later owners it became one of Britain's leading…
Hillman
Founded in Coventry in 1907 by William Hillman with designer Louis Coatalen, Hillman became the everyday family-car brand of the Rootes Group, best known for the Minx, the…
Humber
Thomas Humber's cycle company began building cars in 1896 and grew into a respected maker of solid, comfortable upper-middle-class cars. As the senior brand of the Rootes Group…
Jaguar
Britain's best-known luxury sports and saloon car maker, founded in Blackpool as a motorcycle sidecar business before becoming one of Coventry's defining marques. Renamed from SS Cars in…
Lanchester
The three Lanchester brothers built one of Britain's first petrol cars in Birmingham in 1895 and founded their company in 1899, becoming famous for inventive engineering, including the…
Lea-Francis
Richard Lea and Graham Francis founded their Coventry cycle business in 1895 and moved into cars in 1903. A Lea-Francis Hyper, Britain's first supercharged production car, won the…
Riley
The Riley family's Coventry cycle business turned to cars at the end of the 1890s and became known for well-engineered, fine-handling sporting cars such as the Nine and…
Rover
Rover grew from a Coventry bicycle business into one of Britain's most respected makers of dignified family and executive saloons, from the P4 and P5 to the P6…
Singer
George Singer's Coventry cycle company moved into cars in the early 1900s and by the 1920s was one of Britain's biggest car makers, known for the Ten and…
Standard Motor Company
A Coventry maker of dependable family cars, the Standard Motor Company was founded in 1903 by Reginald Maudslay. It built the post-war Vanguard, bought Triumph in the mid-1940s…
Swift
Swift of Coventry grew from James Starley's Coventry Sewing Machine Company, the cradle of the city's cycle industry, and built cars from 1900 until 1931, when the little…
Triumph
A Coventry marque with roots in Victorian bicycle manufacturing, Triumph became one of Britain's best-loved sports car makers through the TR series and Spitfire, alongside mainstream saloons like…
Designers and coachbuilders connected with Coventry
- Roy Axe Designer 1937 – 2010
- Ian Callum Designer born 1954
- Carbodies Coachbuilder 1919 – 2012
- Coventry Climax Engineering & engine firm founded 1903
- Walter Hassan Engineer 1905 – 1996
- Spen King Engineer 1925 – 2010
- William Lyons Designer 1901 – 1985
- Harris Mann Designer 1938 – 2023
- Gerry McGovern Designer born 1956
- Malcolm Sayer Designer 1916 – 1970
Museums near Coventry
- Coventry Transport Museum
Formerly the Museum of British Road Transport, it holds the largest collection of British-made road transport in public ownership: more than 240 cars and commercial vehicles,…
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