Frederick, George and Frank Lanchester built an experimental car in Birmingham in 1895, one of the first petrol-engined cars made in Britain. The Lanchester Engine Company was formed in December 1899, and its first production cars followed in 1900, built at Armourer Mills in Montgomery Street, Sparkbrook.
Lanchester cars were engineered from first principles and full of original ideas, such as balanced twin-crankshaft engines and epicyclic gearboxes, and in 1902 Lanchester became the first company to offer disc brakes to the public. From 1903 the company also built its own bodies, and through the 1910s and 1920s it made fine, expensive cars for wealthy customers.
The company ran into financial trouble in the Depression, and in January 1931 BSA, which already owned Daimler, bought all its shares for £26,000. Production moved to Daimler in Coventry, and Lanchesters became smaller, less expensive relatives of Daimlers. The last models, the Fourteen and the Ten, were built in 1955. The dormant company still exists and has been owned by Jaguar Land Rover since 2013.
