Pennington Autocar

Key facts

Year

1896
Country

Great Britain
Capacity

1,868cc
Cylinders

2
Performance

40mph
Price new

£157
Owner

Private Collection
Manufacturer

Great Horseless Carriage Co. Ltd

This machine is the only known surviving example of the schemes promoted by Edward Joel Pennington. The Autocar was a simple design with a frame built by Humber. It is thought that only five were made. Pennington claimed that it could carry four people (although one advert showed an Autocar carrying nine!) and was capable of 40 mph. He also claimed the tyres were “impuncturable”. An Autocar was entered in the November 1896 Emancipation Run from London to Brighton but was withdrawn after bursting a tyre.

Pennington was an American inventor and company promoter. Between the 1880s and 1900s, he started numerous companies in the USA and in Britain, where he set up business in the Coventry Motor Mills. He was skilful at obtaining financial backing for his schemes. Few, if any, of his investors ever saw their money again.