Back to the future: hybrid car was visionary invention for city firm
ONE of the first hybrid petrol-electric cars in the world – built in Birmingham – has been recognised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers with its 144th Engineering Heritage Award.
The body has marked the importance of the 1927 Lanchester Mark VII Petrol-Electric
Hybrid Motorcar – registration ‘OP13’, now displayed at Birmingham Thinktank museum.
It is the only surviving prototype of the innovative petrol-electric hybrid cars built in by the Lanchester Motor Company. Frederick Lanchester was a prolific motor and aeronautical engineer, who submitted some
426 patents over the course of his career.
He spent much of his life in Birmingham, moving to the city at the age of 20 after securing employment as assistant works manager at the Forward Gas Engine Company.
Together with brothers George and Frank, he formed the Lanchester Motor Company in 1899.
Over the course of his career, he developed inventions for fourwheel brakes, four-wheel drive, roller bearings and turbo-charging, as well as authoring theories about aerodynamics that became a standard reference text for aircraft designers.
Lanchester spent over a decade developing his ideas for a hybrid petrol-electric motor engine – a system he called the ‘Petrelect’. He built a number of prototypes, attempting to perfect both vehicle and engine design but, running out of money and facing competition from increasingly affordable family cars from manufacturers such as Austin, they never went into general production. Thinktank’s Mark VII was the last prototype to be created and is the only surviving example. Between its production in 1927 and its donation to Birmingham’s collection in 1961, it clocked up just 757 miles on the odometer. Felicity McWiliams, Curator of Science & Industry at Birmingham Museums Trust, said: “The
Lanchester Petrol-Electric Hybrid Motorcar was a ground-breaking piece of technology, pre-dating modern petrol-electric hybrids by nearly a century. Thinktank is proud to have this important vehicle on display, and delighted that its significance has now been recognised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.”
John Wood from IMechE added: “The Institution’s Engineering Heritage Scheme is now in its 40th year, and continues to go from strength to strength. “During this time, The Engineering Heritage Committee has presented awards to a wide range of engineering achievements, such as pumping stations, trains, aeroplanes, brickworks and submarines. We are committed to recognising
engineering heritage and are proud to add Lanchester PetrolElectric Hybrid Motorcar to this list of recipients.”
The Lanchester company was located at Armourer Mills, Montgomery Street, Sparkbrook until early 1931, and afterwards at Sandy Lane, Coventry. It was bought by the BSA Group at the end of 1930, after which its cars were made by Daimler in Coventry. With Daimler, Lanchester then became part of Jaguar in 1960.
The Engineering Heritage Awards started in 1984 to celebrate pioneering work.