London

Active 1901 – present Sports & Specialist

One of Britain's oldest car makers, AC began in West Norwood, London, in 1901 and moved to Thames Ditton, Surrey, in 1911. It is best known for the…

Discontinued 1912 – 1979 Mainstream & Utility

AEC (Associated Equipment Company) built London's buses, from the B-type to the Routemaster, and was Britain's biggest wartime lorry maker. Started in 1912 by the Underground Group, it…

Discontinued 1945 – 1958 Sports & Specialist

Sydney Allard built big-engined trials and sports cars in Clapham, south London, from 1945. His J2 finished third at Le Mans in 1950 and was raced by Carroll…

Active 1913 – present Sports & Specialist Luxury / Prestige

Founded in London in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford, Aston Martin grew from a small maker of sporting light cars into Britain's best-known builder of luxury…

Discontinued 1919 – 1966 Mainstream & Utility

Beardmore, the Clydeside shipbuilding and engineering giant, built cars and, from 1919 to 1966, the rugged Beardmore taxi, nicknamed "the Rolls-Royce of taxicabs". Production moved from Paisley to…

Active 1919 – present Luxury / Prestige Sports & Specialist

W. O. Bentley founded Bentley Motors in Cricklewood, north London, in 1919, and his big sporting cars won Le Mans five times between 1924 and 1930. Owned by…

Discontinued 1897 – 1899 Mainstream & Utility

The Bersey electric cab was London's first motor taxi. Designed by electrical engineer Walter Bersey, it went into service in August 1897, and its fleet of up to…

Discontinued 1965 – 1983 Kit Car Sports & Specialist

Davrian was a tiny glass-fibre monocoque coupé designed by structural engineer Adrian Evans and built from 1965, first in Clapham and later in west Wales. Light and agile,…

Discontinued 1955 – 1968 Sports & Specialist

Frank Nichols founded Elva in 1955 at Bexhill-on-Sea, taking the name from the French elle va, "she goes". Elva built successful small sports-racing cars and the Courier road…

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 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…

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,…

Active 1952 – present Sports & Specialist

Founded by engineer and racing driver Colin Chapman, Lotus built its reputation on lightweight construction and Formula One success before becoming one of Britain's most respected specialist sports…

Discontinued 1900 – 1924 Luxury / Prestige Sports & Specialist

D. Napier & Son, a London precision engineering firm founded in 1808, built some of the fastest and finest cars of the Edwardian era between 1900 and 1924.…

Discontinued 1933 – 1940 Sports & Specialist Luxury / Prestige

After Invicta, Noel Macklin founded Railton at Cobham in 1933, fitting British coachwork to powerful American Hudson Terraplane chassis. Named after land-speed-record engineer Reid Railton, the cars were…

Discontinued 1921 – 1988 Mainstream & Utility

Scammell of Watford built specialist heavy lorries, tank transporters and the little Mechanical Horse, from 1921 until the works closed in 1988. Its articulated six-wheeler let lorries carry…

Discontinued 1906 – 1926 Luxury / Prestige Sports & Specialist

Straker-Squire of Bristol built steam wagons, buses and fast, well-made cars. By 1909 its Fishponds works supplied 70% of London's buses. After the First World War car production…

Discontinued 1903 – 1994 Mainstream & Utility Sports & Specialist

Clément-Talbot was founded in London in 1903 by the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot, and its Georges Roesch-designed cars of the 1920s and '30s were among Britain's finest.…

Discontinued 1956 – 1958 Mainstream & Utility

The Tourette was a rounded three-wheeled microcar built by Carr Brothers, later the Progress Supreme Co, of Purley, south London, between 1956 and 1958. Only 26 are believed…