John Godfrey Parry-Thomas was an outstanding engineer born in Wrexham, North Wales, in 1885. In 1917, he was appointed chief engineer of Leyland Motors Ltd. He patented electrical transmission systems, the Thomas piston, and designed an advanced luxury car, the Leyland Eight. Keep Reading

The concept of a new car “bristling” with the latest technology is often bandied about, but few new models carried as much all-round innovation at their debut as Lancia’s sporty Lambda. It broke new ground in its engine, its suspension, and its overall construction. Keep Reading

Herbert Austin quit Wolseley in 1905 to set up his own company, called Austin, and by the early 1920s it was one of Britain’s most important carmakers with 22,000 employees. But it was not all plain sailing. Keep Reading

The Italian count Mario Ricotti turned out to be quite a visionary. His idea that popular cars of the future would be highly aerodynamic “one box” people carriers was extraordinarily prescient. Keep Reading

Recently described by Stephen Vokins of Britain’s National Motor Museum as “a fantastic answer to a question no-one had asked,” the Gyrocar was an attempt to marry car and motorcycle. Keep Reading