Blériot-Whippet
Encyclopedia
The Blériot-Whippet was a British 4 wheeled cyclecar
made from 1920 to 1927 by the Air Navigation and Engineering Company
based in Addlestone
, Surrey.
The Blériot
aircraft company had opened a factory at Addlestone during World War I to make SPAD
and Avro
aircraft and in 1920 the ownership of the plant changed to the Air Navigation and Engineering Co. and introduced car making with a cyclecar designed by Herbert Jones and W.D. Marchant. There seems to have been no connection with the cyclecar made by the French Blériot company.
The most unusual feature of the car was its infinitely variable belt transmission using expanding pulleys to a design called the Zenith-Gradua. It had originally been used on Zenith motor cycles. Power came from a 1 Litre, Blackburne air-cooled, V-twin
, engine producing 14 bhp at 2000 rpm and mounted with cylinders one behind the other. This was modified by Jones and Marchant to have roller bearing big ends. The chassis had quarter elliptic leaf springs all round.
In 1922 the belt drive was replaced by a conventional three-speed gearbox and chain drive. The chain drive car was in 1923 joined by a shaft drive model with the engine turned through 90 degrees.
Two seat open bodies were standard made of plywood covered in leather cloth and came in tourer and sports versions.. Later a 3/4 seat version was added to the range. The car cost GBP 300 at launch falling to GBP115 in 1924.
Several hundred are thought to have been made and one was owned by Alec Issigonis
. Only one is known to survive.
The Air Navigation and Engineering Company also made the Eric Longden light car at Addlestone as well as some aircraft and gliders, but failed in 1927. The factory later housed the British manufacture of fabric bodied Weymann
coachwork and later Metro Cammell Weymann
bus bodies, this business continuing until 1965.
Cyclecar
Cyclecars were small, generally inexpensive cars manufactured mainly between 1910 and the late 1920s.-General description:Cyclecars were propelled by single cylinder, V-twin or more rarely four cylinder engines, often air cooled. Sometimes these had been originally used in motorcycles and other...
made from 1920 to 1927 by the Air Navigation and Engineering Company
Air Navigation and Engineering Company
Aircraft Navigation and Engineering Company Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1919 to 1927.-History:The company was formed in 1919 when the Blériot & SPAD Manufacturing Company Limited was renamed...
based in Addlestone
Addlestone
Addlestone is a town in the borough of Runnymede in the county of Surrey, England.Immediate surrounding towns and villages include Weybridge, Ottershaw, Chertsey, and New Haw. It is near Junction 11 of the M25 motorway and is served by Addlestone railway station on the Chertsey Branch Line. It also...
, Surrey.
The Blériot
Louis Blériot
Louis Charles Joseph Blériot was a French aviator, inventor and engineer. In 1909 he completed the first flight across a large body of water in a heavier-than-air craft, when he crossed the English Channel. For this achievement, he received a prize of £1,000...
aircraft company had opened a factory at Addlestone during World War I to make SPAD
Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés
SPAD was a French aircraft manufacturer between 1911 and 1921. Its SPAD S.XIII biplane was the most popular French fighter airplane in World War I.-Deperdussin:...
and Avro
Avro
Avro was a British aircraft manufacturer, with numerous landmark designs such as the Avro 504 trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the delta wing Avro Vulcan, a stalwart of the Cold War.-Early history:One of the world's...
aircraft and in 1920 the ownership of the plant changed to the Air Navigation and Engineering Co. and introduced car making with a cyclecar designed by Herbert Jones and W.D. Marchant. There seems to have been no connection with the cyclecar made by the French Blériot company.
The most unusual feature of the car was its infinitely variable belt transmission using expanding pulleys to a design called the Zenith-Gradua. It had originally been used on Zenith motor cycles. Power came from a 1 Litre, Blackburne air-cooled, V-twin
V-twin
A V-twin engine is a two-cylinder internal combustion engine where the cylinders are arranged in a V configuration.- Crankshaft configuration :Most V-twin engines have a single crankpin, which is shared by both connecting rods...
, engine producing 14 bhp at 2000 rpm and mounted with cylinders one behind the other. This was modified by Jones and Marchant to have roller bearing big ends. The chassis had quarter elliptic leaf springs all round.
In 1922 the belt drive was replaced by a conventional three-speed gearbox and chain drive. The chain drive car was in 1923 joined by a shaft drive model with the engine turned through 90 degrees.
Two seat open bodies were standard made of plywood covered in leather cloth and came in tourer and sports versions.. Later a 3/4 seat version was added to the range. The car cost GBP 300 at launch falling to GBP115 in 1924.
Several hundred are thought to have been made and one was owned by Alec Issigonis
Alec Issigonis
Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, CBE, FRS was a Greek-British designer of cars, now remembered chiefly for the groundbreaking and influential development of the Mini, launched by the British Motor Corporation in 1959.- Early life:Issigonis was born into the Greek community of Smyrna ...
. Only one is known to survive.
The Air Navigation and Engineering Company also made the Eric Longden light car at Addlestone as well as some aircraft and gliders, but failed in 1927. The factory later housed the British manufacture of fabric bodied Weymann
Weymann Fabric Bodies
Weymann Fabric Bodies is a patented design system for fuselages for aircraft and superlight coachwork for motor vehicles. The system used a patent-jointed wood frame covered in fabric...
coachwork and later Metro Cammell Weymann
Metro Cammell Weymann
Metro Cammell Weymann was once a major player in transportation manufacturing in the UK and Europe. It was formed in 1932 by Weymann Motor Bodies Ltd and Metro Cammell's bus bodybuilding division to produce bus bodies....
bus bodies, this business continuing until 1965.