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Wilson-Pilcher

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Wilson-Pilcher
Company typePrivate
Founded1901
Defunct1904
FateWound up
SuccessorArmstrong Whitworth
HeadquartersNewcastle upon Tyne, England
Key people
Walter Gordon Wilson and co-designer Percy Pilcher
File:Wilson-Pilcher 1904.JPG
Wilson-Pilcher 1904

Wilson-Pilcher was a British automobile manufacturer established in 1901 and later acquired by Sir WG Taken Armstrong Whitworth & Co., Limited in 1904.

History

The enterprise Wilson-Pilcher was initiated in 1901 by Walter Gordon Wilson in London with the aim of manufacturing motor vehicles. In 1904, ownership transferred to Sir WG Taken Armstrong Whitworth & Co., Limited, which relocated production to Newcastle upon Tyne. Prior to this, Percy Pilcher, who had collaborated with Wilson on an engine intended for powered flight, tragically died in a gliding accident in 1899. Photographic records maintained by Bonhams indicate the existence of a wooden prototype of the vehicle dating from 1899, along with an image of a functional car captured at Stanhope Hall in 1900.

Manufacturing ceased in 1907.

Vehicles

The initial model featured a 9 hp four-cylinder flat engine with a displacement of 2400 cc. By 1903, this was superseded by a 12/16 hp unit with a capacity of 2694 cc. The range expanded in 1904 to include a six-cylinder engine rated at 18/24 HP, displacing 4041 cc. In April of that year, The Automotor Journal published an extensive review of the Wilson-Pilcher automobile,[1] which was then produced by Armstrong Whitworth in Newcastle. The article specified that both engine types had cylinders measuring 3.75 inches bore and stroke, corresponding to displacements of 2715 cc for the four-cylinder and 4072 cc for the six-cylinder engines.

A Wilson-Pilcher automobile from 1904
A Wilson-Pilcher automobile from 1904

One surviving example of the four-cylinder model, bearing registration "BB96," has been exhibited at multiple museums and was auctioned in 2012 for £203,100 after being displayed at the Coventry Transport Museum. According to the auction house's description, photographic evidence supports the presence of a wooden mock-up from 1899 and a complete vehicle photographed at Stanhope Hall in 1900.[2]

Chassis, Engine, and Transmission Specifications

The engineering features of the Wilson-Pilcher automobile were considered innovative enough to warrant an extensive three-part feature in the 1904 editions of The Automotor Journal, from which the following details and illustrations are derived.[1]

Chassis

The power unit was mounted conventionally at the front of the chassis but positioned at a slight angle to enable direct power transmission to the rear axle, with cylinders oriented between the frame rails. The upper engine mounts permitted limited lateral movement, restrained by front helical springs and diagonal radius rods linking the gearbox rear to the rear axle ends. This design effectively isolated vibrations generated by the engine and drivetrain from both chassis and passengers. The images below depict the layout of the six-cylinder model from 1904.

Engine

The four-cylinder and six-cylinder engines shared cylinders of identical dimensions, each measuring 3.75 inches in both bore and stroke. These cylinders were individually fastened to an aluminium crankcase, with an offset configuration that allowed each cylinder to connect to its own crank pin. Between every two cylinders, intermediate crankshaft bearings were installed. The intake valves, positioned atop the cylinders, operated automatically, while the exhaust valves were located underneath and driven by a camshaft situated below the crankshaft. The power outputs are specified as 12-16 hp for the four-cylinder model and 18-24 hp for the six-cylinder variant. It is noted that the lower figures represent the power delivered at the road wheels under typical driving conditions such as hill climbing, whereas the higher values correspond to brake horsepower measured at 1,000 revolutions per minute.

A single camshaft driven by gears manages the exhaust valves, with each cam lobe controlling a pair of cylinders. Roller cam followers are employed for valve actuation. Centrally mounted on this camshaft is a speed governor mechanism that adjusts the shaft longitudinally; consequently, the cam lobes are designed with extra width to accommodate this movement. The governor’s speed regulation is controlled via a lever located on the steering column, which also advances ignition timing as engine speed increases. While the foot throttle pedal—capable of being pressed down or lifted up—can override the governor’s function to either accelerate or decelerate the engine manually, during normal operation this system serves as an early form of cruise control.

Gearbox

Encased in aluminium and directly affixed to the engine, the gearbox incorporates a primary cone clutch alongside two epicyclic gear sets, enabling four forward speeds. All gear teeth are helical, significantly diminishing operational noise, with direct drive engaged in top gear. The foot-operated main clutch can be locked in a disengaged state by pressing and shifting the pedal sideways, permitting engine startup and idling without wheel movement. Once released, gear changes are executed via a hand lever without requiring clutch engagement. One image illustrates this gearbox attached to a four-cylinder engine, highlighting both the cylinder offset and the flywheel positioned at the engine’s front, which also functions as a cooling fan. The epicyclic gear adjacent to the clutch offers a reduction ratio of 2.7:1, while the other provides 1.7:1; these ratios correspond to second and third gears respectively, with their combined engagement producing first gear—all controlled through a single hand lever. Notably, reverse gear is not integrated within the gearbox itself but is instead facilitated by a mechanism in the rear axle (detailed below), operated via a separate reversing lever distinct from the gear selector. This arrangement results in an equal number of reverse gears matching forward gears. The adoption of helical planetary gears later became fundamental in automatic transmissions, differing from this Wilson-Pilcher design primarily because gear shifts occur automatically rather than through manual lever operation.

Rear Axle

Encased in aluminium, the rear axle shared its housing with the engine and gearbox. Beyond its standard role of incorporating a differential, it also integrated the reverse gear mechanism and contained the foot-operated rear brake. The process of reversing involves altering which of the prominent bevel gears (commonly referred to today as crown wheels) meshes with the drive at the propshaft's end. Similar to the gearbox, every gear inside the axle features helical cutting.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Automotor
  2. ↑ Bonhams Catalogue

Bibliography

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  • G. N. Georgano: Autos. Encyclopédie complète. 1885 à nos jours. Courtille, 1975 (French)
  • David Culshaw, Peter Horrobin: The Complete Catalogue of British Cars 1895–1975, Veloce Publishing PLC, Dorchester (1997), ISBN 1-874105-93-6 (English)


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