The Lanchester Legacy

Author Chris Clark is well known in the DLOC and is the complete Lanchester enthusiast, restoring and owning dozens of Lanchester cars. He has spent many decades researching all things Lanchester and, as an engineer, he is best qualified to assess the brothers’ achievements, which are very great indeed.

While every page has obviously been written as a labour of love, the work is scholarly, accurate, critical, well written — and above all — readable. Indeed, a reader without a technical background is able to readily appreciate the subject matter.

The book should be compulsory reading for all. It deserves to succeed. There is only one criticism, but this works in the favour of members: this book is grossly underpriced! Very highly recommended.

Written by the official Historian of The Lanchester Register, this work marks the centenary of one of the most famous names in motor car design. The Lanchester brothers were men of extraordinary technical ability. They were pioneers in the purest sense, whose ideas were in advance of their time and only gradually understood and adopted by other manufacturers and the public.

Basic principles such as the use of fine threads, vibration control, turbo charging, four-wheel drive, fuel injection, power steering and many others attributable to the Lanchesters are described in this excellent work.

We are reminded that the Lanchester was not only the first all-British four-wheel petrol car, but the only car to have been designed from first principles, ignoring the horseless-carriage mentality completely. It also provided stiff opposition to Rolls-Royce as a contender for the title “best car in the world”, especially with the 40 hp model.

The author deals with the technical, social and financial aspects of the story in a most compelling way. This is without doubt the best and most comprehensive work on Lanchester.

Chris Clark, enthusiastic owner of a number of vintage and veteran Lanchesters, has spent decades investigating the subject. The depth and scope of his research is reflected in comprehensive chapters on the experimental years, the variety of cars made, Lanchesters that raced, the armoured cars of both the Great War and later, and the man behind it all: Dr Frederick Lanchester.

This skilful weaving together of such information is written about with understanding, yet hagiography is avoided. Thus, with this essential human perspective, The Lanchester Legacy is not only informative but is a good read as well.

This reviewer consumed the 100,000 words and came away well satisfied. For a work of such comprehensiveness and quality it is an absolute bargain. Club members should without hesitation treat themselves to a copy.

Many congratulations on completing the mammoth task of writing Volume Two. I had not expected such a comprehensive work of over 300 pages, beautifully illustrated throughout. Very well done, and a sincere “thank you” on behalf of the Lanchester family.

Best wishes and congratulations once again for showing what one person can do to ensure that a vital story of British engineering is not only remembered but properly told — future generations will be forever in your debt.

I also love the many chapters in different colours, the gold on the hard cover, and the two marker ribbons which will be very useful. This volume of The Lanchester Legacy is a valuable and important contribution to automobile history.

Author Chris Clark gives us a well-illustrated account of how and why The Lanchester Motor Company evolved after its absorption by the BSA Company in 1931. All aspects are put into clear focus as it sat alongside The Daimler Company.

What really brings the story to life is the considerable number of quotations made by the brothers, the management and, importantly, those in the workforce who knew the cars. The development of each model, its place in pre- and post-war times, the relationship with royalty and the lives of the Lanchester brothers are profusely illustrated, with many previously unseen photographs.

Volume Two gives a real insight into the little-understood world of Lanchester motor cars, and I thoroughly recommend it as a truly definitive source of information.

In this book, the breadth of Lanchester intellect revealed is quite staggering. It concentrates on the inventions and patents of this talented family and includes a considerable amount of motoring interest. It is beautifully produced and absolutely absorbing. Volume Three is excellent value.

The Lanchester brothers were true pioneers of the British motor industry. Equally on other subjects, you have to marvel at their lateral thinking and ability to think twenty years ahead. The detailed information in this volume describes a comprehensive overview of the most important British engineer, Frederick Lanchester.

Chris Clark’s name will need no introduction to those familiar with the Lanchester marque. This fourth volume, subtitled A Joyous Pictorial Journey, is a visual treat, with page after page of often rare images, hundreds of which have been colour tinted, portraying the marque from 1895 to 1956.

Section Two forms an appraisal of Frederick Lanchester’s many contributions to automotive and aeronautical design. The book is rounded off with a Lanchester ‘Trail of Discovery’ and an appendix listing surviving Lanchester cars throughout the world.

Those who already own the first three volumes will no doubt want to complete the set with this fine publication.

As a coachwork-history enthusiast, with an emphasis on Rolls-Royce, I have found many one-make books really useful. Coachbuilders large and small, famous or obscure, built bodies across so many marques, and therefore there is much to learn from studying a wider range.

With the added treat of numerous images having been colourised, this new volume offers a huge range of period coachwork styles. I can appreciate more than ever what a fine coachworks the Lanchester factory had.

With many pages describing the remarkable inventive work of Frederick Lanchester still in use in today’s world, I finished the book absorbed by Part Three, ‘Trail of Discovery’. I highly recommend this new Volume Four.

This fourth and final volume of Chris Clark’s tribute to Lanchester is mostly of pictures, many contemporary and some with tinting. One is vividly reminded of the world of the chauffeur in the earliest photographs and of the numerous coachwork specialists whose designs appeared on Lanchester chassis.

One of the most fascinating parts of the book is the “Britain’s own Leonardo da Vinci” section, which looks at the innovations Frederick Lanchester dreamed up and, in many cases, brought to fruition, not only in automobile design but in aeronautics.

The end section gives a list of Lanchester places, factories, showrooms, homes, museums and surviving cars. For any Lanchester enthusiast, this is a must-have book.