The Albany was an English

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...

, manufactured by the Albany Motor Carriage Company in

Christchurch, Dorset Christchurch () is a town and civil parish in Dorset on the south coast of England. The town had a population of 31,372 in 2021. For the borough the population was 48,368. It adjoins Bournemouth to the west, with the New Forest to the east. Part ...

from 1971 - 1997.

History

The company was run by two brothers, Bryan and David Shepherd. The car was designed as a

veteran car Development of the automobile started in 1672 with the invention of the first steam-powered vehicle, which led to the creation of the first steam-powered automobile capable of human transportation, built by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot in 1769. Invent ...

, in the

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

style, but is not a replica of any particular marque although it bears some resemblance to a 1908 Buick. Early models used the BMC A-series engine and suspension from the

Morris Minor The Morris Minor is a British economy family car that made its debut at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, in October 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.6 million were manufactured between 1948 and 1972 in ...

in a specially built tubular steel chassis. The engine was governed to allow a maximum speed of . The car was hand built and quite expensive at £1987 before a long list of extras was added. Purchasers requiring a hood or a screen found themselves invited to pay an extra £70 or £50 for these luxuries. From 1974 a 1300 cc

Standard SC engine The Standard SC engine is a cast-iron overhead valve straight-four engine designed and initially produced by Standard Triumph. Over its production life displacement grew from an initial size of just over 800 cc to nearly 1500 cc. Int ...

from the

Triumph Spitfire The Triumph Spitfire is a British sports car and manufactured over five production iterations between 1962-1980. Styled for Standard- Triumph in 1957 by Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti, the Spitfire was introduced at the London Motor Sho ...

was used and a longer wheelbase five-seat option came in 1976. Albany also made a replica 1910 AEC open air bus, based on a

Ford D Series The Ford D series is a range of middle-weight trucks that were introduced by Ford UK in 1965. It replaced the Thames Trader and appears to have been envisaged as a more modern competitor to the Bedford TK produced by General Motors' UK truck ...

lorry chassis, that now provides very brief quasi-vintage bus rides at the Beaulieu motor museum in Hampshire. It appeared in the 1970s remake of the film 'The 39 Steps' starring Robert Powell. In 1973 about a car every two weeks was being produced and exports to the United States started. However, after about 12 cars were shipped the importing company failed. The price in 1974, now with a 1500cc Triumph engine had risen to £2487. By 1977 110 cars had been built. As of 1992, the open-top Albany featuring a 1500 cc SC engine was being built for export only. The company closed in 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albany (Automobile) Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1971 History of Christchurch, Dorset Companies based in Dorset

History

See also

References