West Midlands

Active 1948 – present Mainstream & Utility

Britain's defining off-road and utility marque, launched by the Rover Company in 1948 and built at Solihull ever since. Land Rover has become shorthand worldwide for rugged, go-anywhere…

Discontinued 1895 – 1962 Sports & Specialist Mainstream & Utility

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…

Discontinued 1987 – 2006 Mainstream & Utility

The Metrocab, launched by Metro-Cammell Weymann in 1987, was the first London black cab designed for wheelchair users. Built later by Reliant, Hooper and Kamkorp, it was made…

Active 1924 – present Sports & Specialist

MG grew out of Morris Garages, William Morris's Oxford dealership, where Cecil Kimber began selling tuned, specially bodied Morrises in the early 1920s. Built for half a century…

Active 1959 – present Mainstream & Utility

Alec Issigonis's Mini was launched by BMC in 1959, badged as the Austin Seven and the Morris Mini-Minor, and became a marque in its own right under British…

Discontinued 1896 – 1969 Sports & Specialist

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…

Discontinued 1904 – 2005 Mainstream & Utility Luxury / Prestige

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…

Discontinued 1874 – 1970 Mainstream & Utility Sports & Specialist

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…

Discontinued 1903 – 1963 Mainstream & Utility

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…

Discontinued 1898 – 1932 Mainstream & Utility

The Star Motor Company of Wolverhampton grew out of a bicycle business and built its first car, based on a Benz, in 1898. Known for well-engineered, long-lasting cars,…

Discontinued 1901 – 1976 Sports & Specialist

Sunbeam grew from John Marston's Wolverhampton cycle works into one of Britain's leading car makers of the early twentieth century, winning Grands Prix and setting land speed records…

Discontinued 1954 – 1955 Sports & Specialist

Built by the Swallow Coachbuilding Company in Walsall in 1954 and 1955, the Swallow Doretti was a handsome two-seater on Triumph TR2 mechanicals, designed for the American market.…

Discontinued 1900 – 1931 Mainstream & Utility

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…

Discontinued 1923 – 1984 Sports & Specialist Mainstream & Utility

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…

Discontinued 1951 – 1966 Sports & Specialist

Jack Turner built small, light glass-fibre sports cars near Wolverhampton from 1951 until 1966, powered first by Austin A30 engines and later by Coventry Climax and Ford units.…

1982 Kit Car Sports & Specialist

Westfield Sportscars, founded by Chris Smith in 1982, builds Lotus Seven-inspired two-seaters as kits and complete cars. A Westfield XTR2 once beat a Pagani Zonda round the Top…

Discontinued 1901 – 1975 Mainstream & Utility Luxury / Prestige

Wolseley was one of Britain's earliest car makers, set up by Vickers in 1901 with Herbert Austin as managing director. Bought by William Morris in 1927, it became…