The ABC was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 car manufactured between 1920 and 1929 by ABC Motors

ABC Motors

ABC Motors Limited of Hersham, Surrey, England was a manufacturer of cars, aircraft, motor scooters, and engines for road and air. Established by Ronald Charteris in Hersham, Surrey in 1912, its chief designer was the young and talented Granville Bradshaw...

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It was a light car (305 kg), powered by a 1203 cc flat-twin, air-cooled engine designed by Granville Bradshaw

Granville Bradshaw

Granville Eastwood Bradshaw OBE, AFRAeS was an English engineer and inventor who designed motorcycle and aero-engines.-History:Bradshaw was born in Preston, Lancashire in 1887 as the son of William and Annie Bradshaw. His father was a jeweler and optician.Bradshaw's early work was involved with...

 (the man who was also responsible for the ABC Motorcycle). The engine however was difficult to start, loud, inefficiently lubricated, and prone to breakages, particularly the quite long, exposed push rods. Over time quality improved dramatically. Combined with the vehicle's light weight, the powerplant made the car quite fast for its size, capable of speeds pushing 60 miles per hour, and boasting quite good acceleration. ABC was originally part of the Harper Bean combine, and was based in Hersham, Surrey and Harper Bean supplied castings, stampings, and forgings utilized on the first ABCs. The car was expensive; in 1920 it sold for £414 but came down to £265 for a four seater in 1923.

The "radiator" cap was actually the fuel tank filler, which led to problems when mechanics not familiar with air-cooled cars topped off the fuel tank with water.

In 1925 a more refined version came featuring stronger valve gear, a better system of lubrication, and enclosed pushrods. Front wheel brakes became an option.

The company introduced a Super Sports model in 1925 with a 1320 cc engine. This was the only model offered for the last four years of ABC's production.