Coventry Premier

Coventry Premier Limited
Company type	Private
Industry	Automobile and cyclecar manufacturing, bicycle production
Predecessor	Premier Cycles
Founded	1912
Founder	William Hillman, William Herbert, George B Cooper (originally as Hillman & Herbert Cycle Co Ltd in 1875)
Defunct	1923
Fate	Acquired by Singer in 1920; brand discontinued for automobiles in 1924; bicycle production ended circa 1927
Headquarters	Coventry, United Kingdom
Products	Automobiles, cyclecars, motorcycles, bicycles
Parent	Singer (from 1920)

Coventry Premier Limited was a British manufacturer of automobiles and cyclecars situated in Coventry, operating between 1912 and 1923. The company changed its name from Premier Cycles to Coventry Premier Ltd in November 1914.

Early Company History

The enterprise began in 1875 when William Hillman and William Herbert established Hillman & Herbert Cycle Co Ltd, specializing in bicycle production. George B Cooper joined the firm in 1876, prompting a name change to Hillman, Herbert & Cooper Ltd. They operated out of the Premier Works in Coventry, producing the well-regarded Premier cycle brand within a factory spanning three acres.

In 1891, The Premier Cycle Co Ltd acquired Hillman, Herbert & Cooper but was liquidated within the same year. Subsequently, The New Premier Cycle Co took over its operations and rebranded as The Premier Cycle Co Ltd in 1902.

The year 1914 saw The Premier Cycle Co Ltd renamed as Coventry Premier Ltd, which remained active until its acquisition by Singer in 1920. Singer maintained use of the Coventry Premier brand until approximately 1927, when bicycle manufacturing ended.

William Hillman later founded the Hillman automobile company in 1907.

Premier Motorcycles

Motorcycle production commenced under Hillman, Herbert & Cooper in 1908.

Premier Cyclecars

Introduced in 1912, the Premier cyclecar was equipped with a 998 cc air-cooled V-twin engine featuring a Bosch magneto, leather cone clutch, two-speed gearbox with reverse gear, and a rear axle differential. Its chassis utilized tubular trussed construction complemented by half-elliptic front springs and quarter-elliptic springs at the rear. Braking systems included a foot-operated band brake on the transmission countershaft and two hand-lever controlled internal expanding brakes on the rear wheels.

The Premier Works facility was located on Read Street in Coventry. The original factory building no longer exists; the site was later occupied by Lucas Aerospace.

Light car

In 1914, G.W.A. Brown—formerly associated with Talbot—serving as works manager, designed a light automobile powered by a 1592 cc four-cylinder engine with shaft drive. Although testing continued throughout World War I, production did not commence after the war due to Brown’s departure to Arrol-Johnston in 1917. Instead, the firm introduced the 8 hp Super Runabout, a two-seat three-wheeler cyclecar featuring a 1056 cc water-cooled V-twin engine, shaft drive connected to a gearbox mounted at the rear, and chain drive to the rear wheels.

200 mile Brooklands

Coventry Premier was purchased by Singer in 1921, transitioning from producing three-wheeled vehicles to four-wheel models that retained the same engine but incorporated the gearbox into the rear axle assembly, thereby removing the need for chain drive. By 1923, the Coventry Premier badge was applied to an entry-level version of the Singer Ten. Car production under this brand ceased in 1924, although bicycle manufacturing persisted for a short period afterward.

AJ "Jimmy" Dixon from Enfield competed with a Coventry Premier (No 8) during the 1921 Brooklands Junior Car Club’s 200-mile race, securing fourth place.

Production numbers included roughly 500 three-wheeled models and approximately 1,200 four-wheeled cars.

References