England

Discontinued 1933 – 2007 Mainstream & Utility

ERF was founded in Sandbach in 1933 by Edwin Richard Foden after he left the family firm to build diesel lorries. It bought in its engines, gearboxes and…

Discontinued 1954 – 1973 Sports & Specialist Kit Car

Air Vice-Marshal Don Bennett, the wartime leader of the RAF's Pathfinder Force, founded Fairthorpe in Buckinghamshire in 1954 to build small, light sports cars, many sold as kits.…

Discontinued 1856 – 2006 Mainstream & Utility

Foden of Sandbach in Cheshire grew from a steam engine builder into one of Britain's best-known lorry makers. Its steam wagons, built for over 30 years, ended in…

Active 1911 – present Mainstream & Utility

Ford of Britain opened its first factory outside North America at Trafford Park, Manchester, in 1911, and its vast Dagenham works of 1931 built many of Britain's best-loved…

Discontinued 1922 – 1957 Sports & Specialist

Archie Frazer-Nash founded the company at Kingston upon Thames in 1922, and its chain-drive sports cars became favourites of pre-war competition drivers. Run by the Aldington brothers from…

Discontinued 1957 – 1961 Mainstream & Utility

The Frisky was a British microcar built at Henry Meadows' engine works in Wolverhampton from 1958. Its gull-winged prototype was styled by Giovanni Michelotti of Vignale, but the…

Active 1958 – present Sports & Specialist Kit Car

The four Walklett brothers founded Ginetta at Woodbridge, Suffolk, in 1958, building kit and component sports cars such as the G4 and G15. Now owned by Lawrence Tomlinson's…

Discontinued 1954 – 1958 Mainstream & Utility

The Gordon, built at Bidston by a subsidiary of Vernons Pools from 1954 to 1958, was the cheapest car on the British market at £300. It was a…

Active 2017 – present Sports & Specialist Luxury / Prestige

Gordon Murray Automotive was founded in 2017 by Gordon Murray, designer of the McLaren F1 and Brabham Formula One cars. Its V12 T.50 supercar, with a fan borrowed…

Discontinued 1960 – 1967 Luxury / Prestige Sports & Specialist

John Gordon and Jim Keeble combined a Chevrolet V8 with a spaceframe chassis and a Giugiaro-designed body to create the Gordon-Keeble, a fast, well-equipped four-seat grand tourer. About…

Discontinued 1967 – 2010 Kit Car Sports & Specialist

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…

Discontinued 1914 – 1982 Mainstream & Utility

Sydney Guy left Sunbeam to found Guy Motors at Fallings Park, Wolverhampton, in 1914. It built light, tough lorries, the Arab bus chassis and the first British V8…

Discontinued 1945 – 1954 Sports & Specialist

Donald Healey set up his own car company at Warwick in 1945, and his Healey Elliott was claimed as the world's fastest production saloon in 1948. The Silverstone…

Discontinued 1907 – 1976 Mainstream & Utility

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…

Discontinued 1936 – 1956 Sports & Specialist

Founded in 1936 by Edward Halford, Guy Robins and Henry Godfrey, HRG built simple, rugged and fast sports cars at Tolworth, Surrey. Just 241 were made before car…

Discontinued 1887 – 1976 Luxury / Prestige Mainstream & Utility

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…

Active 2016 – present Mainstream & Utility

Ineos Automotive was set up by Sir Jim Ratcliffe to build a spiritual successor to the original Land Rover Defender. Its Grenadier, named after his favourite London pub,…

Discontinued 1925 – 1950 Sports & Specialist Luxury / Prestige

Noel Macklin founded Invicta at Cobham, Surrey, in 1925 with backing from Oliver Lyle of Tate & Lyle, building fast, well-made sporting cars such as the 4½ Litre…

Active 1922 – present Luxury / Prestige Sports & Specialist

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…

Discontinued 1934 – 2002 Sports & Specialist Luxury / Prestige

A West Bromwich coachbuilder turned specialist manufacturer of hand-built, Chrysler V8-powered grand tourers, Jensen is best remembered for the Interceptor and its pioneering four-wheel-drive FF sibling. The company…