Lea-Francis Vehicles
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Lea-Francis Bicycles
This is where it all started. The partnership of R H Lea and G I Francis was formed for the purpose of producing high quality bicycles. -
Lea-Francis Motorcycles
Lea & Francis started serious work on motorcycle development in 1911, and in 1912 a well designed machine, fitted with a V-twin 3¼ hp JAP engine, was launched. -
The First Lea-Francis Motor Car - 1903
Lea & Francis, having decided to enter the motor manufacturing business, set up a new company called Lea and Francis Motor Syndicate Ltd and engaged Alexander Craig to design them a motor car. -
1919 11.9hp Car
Arthur Alderson had worked for Singer prior to being engaged by Lea-Francis in 1919 to design their first car since 1903. -
Prototype Motor Cars 1919 to 1922
Lea & Francis produced a number of prototype motor cars that never made it to the market place. Some were quite perculiar in design, although the work ultimately led to the first really succesfull Lea-Francis motor car, the C-Type -
C-Type 1922-23
When Charles M. Van Eugen joined Lea-Francis in 1922 his first task was to redesign the prototype C-Type so as to make it safe and suitable for production. -
D-Type 1923-26
A revision of the C-Type, the D-Type was significant because it was the first production Lea-Francis fitted with a Meadows engine. -
E-Type 1924-26
A new chassis design resulted in a car slightly larger and robust than the D-Type and was to be the basis for a number of varients. The E-Type was fitted with the same Meadows 4EB engine as the D-Type before it. -
F-Type 1924-25
The F type Lea-Francis was built on the same chassis as the E-Type with the same Meadows 4EB engine and was identical except for having a three-speed gearbox. -
G-Type 1925-27
The G-Type was Lea-Francis attempt to enter the market of low cost motoring -
I-Type 1925
Built on the same chassis as the E-Type, the I-Type was, for the most part, fitted with the slightly more powerful Meadows 4EC engine -
J-Type 1925-28
The 1926 range of cars saw a revised chassis fitted with various engines. With the Meadows 4EC engine, the chassis was designated the J-Type -
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Kirkstone 1926-28
A Lea-Francis radiator and gearbox fitted to a Vulcan built car with an Anzani side-valve engine. -
1LFS 1926-28
An early example of badge engineering, these cars were made by Vulcan Engineering of Southport, with whom Lea-Francis were associated. The motor cars looked impressive, but were a finacial disaster for Lea-Francis as the twin-camshaft 1LFS engine was poorly designed and unreliable. -
L-Type 1926-27
The first real sports car produced by Lea-Francis, the L-Type was was built on the same chassis as the J-Type and fitted with a Brooklands spec. Meadows 4ED engine. -
M-Type 1926-1928
Fitted with a Meadows 4ED engine, usually with a single Solex carburettor, the M-Type was significantly quicker than the J and K-Types with their 4EC and 4EB engines, but the additional power put significant strain on the transmission, often leading to failure, particularly of the rear axle. -
N-Type 1926-1927
Fitted with an Anzani side-valve engine, the N-Type was developed because Lea-Francis believed their supply of Meadows engines might not keep pace with the rate at which they were building and selling cars. -
Lea-Francis Special (The Lobster)
The first purpose built racing car by Lea-Francis -
O-Type 1927-30
During 1927 Charles Van Eugen convinced the directors of Lea-Francis to allow him to design a completely new chassis assembly. Fitted with a Brooklands specification Meadows 4ED engine the chassis was designated the O-Type -
P-Type 1927-33
During 1927 Charles Van Eugen convinced the directors of Lea-Francis to allow him to design a completely new chassis assembly. Fitted with a Meadows 4ED engine the chassis was designated the P-Type -
2LFS 1928-29
An improved 2litre twin overhead-camshaft engine was designed by Vulcan in 1927 but very few cars were sold with this engine, perhaps due to the reputation of the previous Vulcan based model. -
R-Type (200 Mile Race Cars) 1928
These three racing cars were built for the 1928 200-mile race at Brooklands. They were built on a quarter-elliptic rear-spring chassis, similar to that of the J-Type and fitted with a supercharged Meadows 4ED engine. -
S-Type (Hyper) 1927-32
The S-Type was quickly branded the "Hyper" by Lea-Francis and is how it has been commonly referred to since. After experiements with a variety of superchargers, Lea-Francis adopted the Cozette for use in its competition cars, from which the S-Type evolved, to become the first supercharged British production car. -
T-Type 1927-29
During 1927 Charles Van Eugen convinced the directors of Lea-Francis to allow him to design a completely new chassis assembly. Extended by 3" compared with the P-Type frame and fitted with the somewhat unreliable Vulcan built six-cylinder twin overhead-camshaft 1LFS engine the chassis was designated the T-Type. -
U-Type 1927-30
During 1927 Charles Van Eugen convinced the directors of Lea-Francis to allow him to design a completely new chassis assembly. Fitted with the Meadows 4EC engine the chassis was designated the U-Type -
V-Type 1929-31
The V type is essentially an S type, but with a twin port head and two carburettors instead of the supercharger, and with a Weymann Sportsman’s Coupé body like that fitted to some Hypers. -
W-Type 1929-32
Intended to rival the popular Riley Nine Monaco, the W type or Francis saloon had a light fabric body with a small boot on a slightly modified P type chassis with a 10 degree sloping radiator, and was generally lower-built and less ‘perpendicular’ than the earlier saloons. -
Ace-of-Spades
In 1929 Lea-Francis designed a six cylinder engine of their own called the Ace of Spades after the shape of the timing case cover. Used in two different chassis configurations the cars did not sell well and proved less than reliable when new due in no small part to poorly designed inlet and exhaust tracts and a poor choice of carburettor.
