Armstrong Siddeley Heritage Trust
Siddeley Autocar This Page is under construction
John Davenport Siddeley (JDS) first became interested in the fledgling British motor car industry when he entered his 6hp Daimler in the 1900 1000-mile trial. The car completed the trial successfully, and this experience persuaded him that his future lay in manufacturing motor cars. The cars that most impressed him were those that followed the Mercedes principle. Peugeot of France made motor cars that adopted this approach, and Siddeley reached an agreement with them to produce copies of their vehicles under license.
Siddeley had developed a business relationship with the banking magnate Leopold Rothschild, whose son Leonard had an interest in the motoring scene. With their help, he formed the Siddeley Autocar Co. in early 1902. The Rothschilds introduced him to the Wolseley Motor Car Company, which agreed to assemble motor cars using a locally manufactured body mounted on a Peugeot chassis complete with all mechanical parts.
Credit Dominic Alves
This is a surviving example of the early Peugeot-Siddeley type motor car with a two-cylinder 8hp engine. Gradually, the locally manufactured content of the cars increased, with several different models being produced. Here are some surviving examples dated c1904:
The left-hand image is of a Wolseley chassis with their 6hp horizontal engine with a chain drive to the rear wheels, upon which a Siddeley-designed body has been mounted. It was marketed as a Siddeley Autocar. Whilst the horizontal engine was unfashionable, it gave Siddeley an entry-level motor car priced at £170. The central image resembles the 6hp Wolseley model; however, it is powered by a single-cylinder, locally manufactured vertical engine of 1,173cc with a differential driving the rear wheels.
Our final car looks remarkably like the early Peugeot-Siddeley cars shown at the top of the page, yet it has the same single-cylinder engine as the one in the central image The transmission is via a centrally mounted differential with a chain drive to both rear wheelsl, whilst the green car's transmission is direct to the rear wheels.
Clearly, there were many variations of motor car design during this period. By 1904, the company had stabilised its model range to three basic models; the 6th August edition of County Life of that year carried the following advertisement.
1904 6hp Siddeley Autocar
1904 12hp Siddeley Autocar
1904 18hp Siddeley Autocar
These contemporary images show the three different models in the above advert, while the following images show the chassis of the 12hp model. In the right-hand image, you can see the differential located near the centre of the car, which then transfers the drive to the rear axle via roller chains. This system allowed for a relatively simple design to accommodate the vertical axle movement associated with the rear suspension system.
This is a surviving example of the Siddeley Autocar in the above advert. Photo credit Richard Edmunds Auctions
This model is based on a Wolseley chassis and engine with a Siddeley desgned body. The engine has a horizontal single cylinder rated at 6 hp, the transmission is via chain drive to the rear axil.
Whilst John Siddeleys early motor cars were very much Peugeots on Mercedes lines, the 1904 range of 6, 12 and 18hp models had a very British air. In 1905, the Autocar issue of 5th January applauded the new 12hp model as being an "entirely British production" Even so, the Mercedes influence was very apparent from Autocar's technical description:
"The chassis is formed from a stamped steel frame with transverse members of H steel riveted to it. Forward of the dashboard, it is swept inward to allow a tight turning circle. The upright engine, with a bore and stroke of 4.5 inches and some 12hp, is supported on its own frame and attached to the chassis by brackets. The cylinder heads were made of cast iron, and the water jackets were cast in aluminium. Valve operation was on the Mercedes principle, and the compression could be adjusted for starting purposes."
Very few of these models have survived; one exception is the 12hp shown below.
Here are some contemporary images of Siddeley Autocars; the extreme right-hand image was taken in c1919, a testament to the durability of John Siddeley's motorcars!
This new range of motor cars soon started to outsell the Wolseley products, which persuaded the directors of Vickers, Son, and Maxim, the owners of Wolseley, that it was in their best interests to merge Siddeley Autocar into their own organisation. Accordingly, they made John Siddeley an offer that was too good to be refused. Thus, in late 1905, Wolseley motor cars became Wolseley Siddeleys.
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