The Xtra was an English three-wheel

cyclecar A cyclecar was a type of small, lightweight and inexpensive motorized car manufactured in Europe and the United States between 1910 and the early 1920s. The purpose of cyclecars was to fill a gap in the market between the motorcycle and the c ...

launched at the Olympia show in November 1921The Olympia Show, The Motor Cycle, 1 Dec 1921, p742 and built until 1924 by Xtra Cars, Ltd., of London Road,

Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, southwest of central London. It grew up around Chertsey Abbey, founded in AD 666 by Earconwald, St Erkenwald, and gained a municipal charter, market charter from Henry I of Engla ...

, Surrey. A very basic machine, it was designed by Cuthbert Clarke and resembled a three-wheeled sidecar in most respects. The car was powered by a 3.75 hp

single-cylinder A single-cylinder engine, sometimes called a thumper, is a piston engine with one cylinder. This engine is often used for motorcycles, motor scooters, motorized bicycles, go-karts, all-terrain vehicles, radio-controlled vehicles, power tools an ...

, two stroke, 270 cc Villiers engine and had a friction drive two-speed transmission, using two cork covered wheels of different sizes, chain driven by the engine. These wheels ran within a drum which was mounted on the single rear wheel and one would make contact to provide drive at the appropriate ratio. They were controlled by a lever which could be pushed or pulled to engage drive and had a central neutral position. There was no reverse gear. Rear suspension was by a coil spring on the engine frame. There was no front axle, the wheels were controlled by two transverse leaf springs. Steering was by rack and pinion. Braking was on the rear wheel only and used shoes operating on the outside of the transmission drum. The first Xtra was a single seater (monocar) with a light

plywood Plywood is a composite material manufactured from thin layers, or "plies", of wood veneer that have been stacked and glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards, which include plywood, medium-density fibreboa ...

on ash frame body with an occasional seat behind the driver on top of the engine. It featured

acetylene Acetylene (Chemical nomenclature, systematic name: ethyne) is a chemical compound with the formula and structure . It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is u ...

lighting. A top speed of above 30 mph (48 km/h) was claimed. The monocar was joined in November 1922 by a "Sociable" two seater with side by side seats and an option of having an 8 hp, V-twin JAP engine in place of the Villiers. Xtra went into voluntary liquidation in May 1924 and was finally wound up in July 1926. It is not known how many cars were made.

References

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External links

* http://3wheelers.com/xtra.html Cyclecars Three-wheeled motor vehicles Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England 1920s cars Defunct companies based in Surrey

See also

References

External links