Squire Car Manufacturing Company
Encyclopedia
The Squire Car Manufacturing Company was a British auto manufacturer of the 1930s based in Henley-on-Thames
, Oxfordshire. Founded as Squire Motors Ltd by 21-year-old Adrian Squire (1910-1940), formerly of Bentley
and MG
, the company renamed as the Squire Car Manufacturing Company produced the Squire car, which epitomised the Grand Prix car turned into road car.
After Frazer-Nash temporarily cast aside British Anzani
, Squire seized the opportunity to use Anzani's R1 100 bhp 1,496 cc twin-cam engine. They were purchased from Anzani with a Squire emblem cast into them. Blown versions were available.
Very few were made, but it held a reputation for exceptional top speed and braking. Squire designed and built a fine rigid chassis offered in two lengths for two or four seat versions with attractive bodywork by Vanden Plas
.
The car was too expensive even with cheaper bodywork from Markham of Reading, and financial difficulties ended production in 1936. A Vanden Plas two seater cost £1,220 which was Bugatti money and even the Markham cost £995.
Two or possibly three more cars were assembled from left over parts by Val Zethrin in 1938 and 1939. There were plans to resume production after the war but the lack of patterns to make the engine made this uneconomical.
Squire himself went on to join Lagonda
and was working for the Bristol Aeroplane Company
when killed in an air raid in 1940.
Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead...
, Oxfordshire. Founded as Squire Motors Ltd by 21-year-old Adrian Squire (1910-1940), formerly of Bentley
Bentley
Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley known as W.O. Bentley or just "W O". Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later...
and MG
MG (car)
The MG Car Company is a former British sports car manufacturer founded in the 1920s by Cecil Kimber. Best known for its two-seat open sports cars, MG also produced saloons and coupés....
, the company renamed as the Squire Car Manufacturing Company produced the Squire car, which epitomised the Grand Prix car turned into road car.
After Frazer-Nash temporarily cast aside British Anzani
Anzani
Anzani was an engine manufacturer founded by the Italian Alessandro Anzani , which produced proprietary engines for aircraft, cars, boats, and motorcycles in factories in Britain, France and Italy.-Overview:...
, Squire seized the opportunity to use Anzani's R1 100 bhp 1,496 cc twin-cam engine. They were purchased from Anzani with a Squire emblem cast into them. Blown versions were available.
Very few were made, but it held a reputation for exceptional top speed and braking. Squire designed and built a fine rigid chassis offered in two lengths for two or four seat versions with attractive bodywork by Vanden Plas
Vanden Plas
Vanden Plas is the name of a company of coachbuilders who produced bodies for specialist and up-market automobile manufacturers. Latterly the name became a top-end luxury model designation for cars from various subsidiaries of British Leyland and the Rover Group.-Belgium:It originated in Belgium in...
.
The car was too expensive even with cheaper bodywork from Markham of Reading, and financial difficulties ended production in 1936. A Vanden Plas two seater cost £1,220 which was Bugatti money and even the Markham cost £995.
Two or possibly three more cars were assembled from left over parts by Val Zethrin in 1938 and 1939. There were plans to resume production after the war but the lack of patterns to make the engine made this uneconomical.
Squire himself went on to join Lagonda
Lagonda
Lagonda is a British luxury car marque, founded as a company in 1906 in Staines, Middlesex by a former opera singer from Ohio, but of Scottish ancestry, named Wilbur Gunn . He named the company after a river near the town of his birth, Springfield, Ohio, United States...
and was working for the Bristol Aeroplane Company
Bristol Aeroplane Company
The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aero engines...
when killed in an air raid in 1940.