Buckingham (automobile)

Infobox Automobile


name = Buckingham 8
manufacturer = Buckingham Engineering Company
production = 1913-1914
class = Cyclecar
body_style = 2-seat open
engine = 729 cc Buckingham single cylinder
transmission =
length = 111 inches (2820 mm)cite book |last=Culshaw |first= |authorlink= |coauthors=Horrobin |title=Complete Catalogue of British Cars |year=1974 |publisher=Macmillan |location=London |id=ISBN 0-333-16689-2]
width = 52 inches (1320 mm)
height =
weight =
wheelbase = 82 inches (2083 mm)
successor =
designer = J F BuckinghamInfobox Automobile


name = Buckingham 10
manufacturer = Buckingham Engineering Company
production = 1920-1923
class = Light car
body_style = 2-seat
engine = 1096 cc Buckingham V twin
transmission =
length = 124 inches (3150 mm)cite book |last=Culshaw |first= |authorlink= |coauthors=Horrobin |title=Complete Catalogue of British Cars |year=1974 |publisher=Macmillan |location=London |id=ISBN 0-333-16689-2]
width =
height =
weight =
wheelbase = 96 inches (2438 mm)
successor =
designer = J F BuckinghamThe Buckingham was an English automobile manufactured by the Buckingham Engineering Company in Coventry from 1914 until 1923. The company had made cars under the Chota name from 1912.

The first cars were a 746 cc cyclecar and a 1492 cc V-twin engined light car both previously sold as Chotas. The engines were to Buckingham's own design cite book |last=Georgano |first=N. |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile |year=2000 |publisher=HMSO |location=London |id=ISBN 1-57958-293-1] and were water cooled.

Production was suspended during World War I and during the conflict Captain Buckingham, the company owner, gained fame as the inventor of the tracer bullet which was used against airships.

In 1920 he returned to car production with a new model using an air cooled version of the pre war V-twin engine but now with a capacity of 1096 cc, a two speed gearbox and belt drive to the rear axle. A three speed gearbox was fitted from 1922 with shaft drive and a rear axle incorporating a differential. Front suspension was by a transverse leaf spring and the rear by quarter elliptic leaf springs. The two seat bodies were made by the coachbuilder Charlesworth.

A coupé version was called the "Palace".

From 1922 to 1923 manufacture of the car was undertaken by Alvis but it is estimated that they only made about 30 of the cars.cite book |last=Baldwin |first=N. |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=A-Z of Cars of the 1920s|year=1994 |publisher=Bay View Books |location=Devon, UK |id=ISBN 1-870979-53-2]

References

*David Burgess Wise, "The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles".