The Humber Pullman is a four-door

limousine A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment which can be operated mechanically by hand or by a button electronically. A luxu ...

which was introduced by the British

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Trent, Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms ...

company in 1930 as a successor to the Humber 20/65 hp and long-wheelbase version of the Humber Snipe. In 1939 an upgraded version was launched badged as the Humber Imperial, but postwar the car reverted to the Pullman name. Between 1948 and 1954 the car was offered with a central partition (for chauffeured use) as the Pullman, but without a partition it was badged as the Humber Imperial (intended for owner-drivers). The Pullman / Imperial was not offered for sale to the public during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

; the factory's limited output were used as

staff car A staff car is a vehicle used by a senior military military officer, officer, and is part of their country's White fleet (UK military vehicles), white fleet. The term is most often used in relation to the United Kingdom where they were first us ...

s. It returned to the market in 1945 and remained in production until 1954. In 1964 the company revived the Humber Imperial name for a top-of-the-line model based on the

Humber Super Snipe The Humber Super Snipe is a car which was produced from 1938 to 1967 by British-based manufacturer Humber Limited. Pre-war Super Snipe The Super Snipe was introduced in October 1938, derived by combining the four-litre inline six-cylinder eng ...

. It remained in production through to 1967.

Before World War II

The 1930 car came with a 3498cc

straight six Straight may refer to: Slang * Straight, slang for heterosexual ** Straight-acting, normal person * Straight, a member of the straight edge subculture Sport and games * Straight, an alternative name for the cross, a type of punch in boxing * Str ...

cylinder overhead inlet side exhaust valve engine and a claimed power output of 80 hp (60 kW). The classic limousine style body featured rear- hinged doors and in some respects resembled the Humber Snipe 80 with which it shared its engine, but the Pullman was longer and wider. For this heavy car Humber claimed a top speed of 73 mph (117 km/h). As well as the limousine,

Landaulette A landaulet, also known as a landaulette, is a car body style where the rear passengers are covered by a convertible top. Often the driver is separated from the rear passengers by a division, as with a limousine. During the first half of the 20t ...

and

Sedanca de Ville Sedanca may refer to: * Coupe de Ville A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without ...

bodies were available. Humber, the manufacturer lost its independence in 1931 when the

Rootes Group The Rootes Group was a British automobile manufacturer and, separately, a major motor distributors and dealers business. From headquarters in the West End of London, the manufacturer was based in the English Midlands, Midlands and the distribu ...

acquired a majority share holding in it. A coupé was added to the body range in 1935 for one year only. A rebodied Pullman with two-piece V windscreen appeared in 1936, sharing the wheelbase of its predecessor, but with the overall length of the car increased to . Engine size was now raised to 4086cc while claimed power was 100 hp (75 kW). The power increase was also evident from the claimed top speed which now edged up to 75 mph (121 km/h). The chassis gained independent front suspension, and hydraulic brakes were fitted in 1940. As well as the factory body options, some cars were supplied in chassis form to independent coachbuilders, especially

Thrupp & Maberly Thrupp & Maberly was a British coachbuilder based in the West End of London, England. Coach-maker to Queen Victoria, it operated for more than two centuries until closed under Rootes Group ownership in 1967. History Thrupp This family coachbui ...

. In 1939 the Pullman was joined by the Humber Imperial or Snipe Imperial which shared the engine with the Pullman, but was built on the shorter Snipe chassis and correspondingly brisker, with an advertised top speed of 81 mph (130 km/h). The car nevertheless remained spacious, and was favoured for use by British government ministers during the 1940s. Four and Six-light saloons and drophead coupé bodies were available. Civilian availability ended in 1940 when the factory was given over to production of the ’Ironside’ Reconnaissance Car. However, production of the newly introduced "razor-edge" Pullman continued throughout the war for the government and the military.

After World War II

The Pullman returned to the market in 1945 with seven-seat limousine and landaulette bodies, to be replaced in 1948 by a reworked and lengthened version on a lengthened chassis and designated the Humber Pullman Mk II. From 1948 the car was available with or without a partition between the front and rear of the cabin. The version with a division retained the Pullman name, while for the mechanically identical owner-driver version the Humber Imperial name was now revived. The headlamps were no longer standalone but fitted into the

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

. The Mark III version introduced in 1951 was little changed from the Mark II, apart from being even longer and having an all-

synchromesh A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission system where gear changes ...

gearbox. At the Mk III Humber Pullman was the same length as the

Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud is a luxury automobile produced by Rolls-Royce Limited from April 1955 to March 1966. It was the core model of the Rolls-Royce range during that period. The Silver Cloud replaced the Silver Dawn and was, in turn, ...

which would emerge from

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had a population of 55,318 and the built-up area had a population of 74,120. ...

in 1955. A total of 2200 Mk II and III Pullmans, and 1526 Imperials, were manufactured. In 1953 more power was offered for the Mark IV Pullmans and Imperials, still with

cylinder engines, but now of 4139cc with

overhead valve An overhead valve engine, abbreviated (OHV) and sometimes called a pushrod engine, is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with flathead (or "sidevalve") engines, where the v ...

s, and published power output of 113 hp (84 kW) or 116 hp (87 kW). Production ended in 1954. File:1947 Humber Pullman (4657472829).jpg, 1947 Humber Pullman Sedanca de Ville 1950 mk2 Humber pullman.jpg, 1949 Humber Pullman Mark II Humber dash.jpg, Dashboard of 1949 Humber Pullman MkII Humber Pullman view to front.jpg, Glass division in 1950 Humber Pullman MkII Humber Pullman Mk2 rear seat.jpg, Rear seating of 1950 Humber Pullman MkII StateLibQld 1 213884 Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip wave to the crowds from a Humber car during their visit to Brisbane in 1954.jpg, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in a Humber Pullman, Brisbane, 1954

Imperial revival

In 1964 the company revived the Humber Imperial name for a top-of-the-line

, distinguished by a slightly lower different-shaped coupé-like vinyl-clad roof. Automatic transmission was standard and there was a more luxuriously appointed interior. The range of large Humbers, including the Imperial, was withdrawn by Rootes in 1967. File:Humber Imperial from and in Essex.JPG, 1964-1967 Humber Imperial File:Humber Imperial rear.jpg, 1964-1967 Humber Imperial

References

{{reflist Pullman Rootes vehicles 1960s cars Cars introduced in 1930 Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Executive cars Cars discontinued in 1967