Lammas Limited., Sunbury-on-Thames, Middlesex, UK 1936 - 1938

In the mid 1930's there were a number of aspiring motor manufacturers who tried to satisfy the growing demand for exclusive cars with attractive coachwork. The recession was coming to an end and there was a new breed of motorist who was prepared to spend a little extra. The motor car was becoming a fashion accessory in addition to providing transport.

One solution was to purchase chassis from America, as they were relatively inexpensive, and then build bodies which were more to the liking of the British public.

Railton had been following this route quite successfully since 1933 using the Hudson Straight 8 engine and chassis with a variety of body styles.

Lammas chose the Graham chassis with the 3,562cc 6-cylinder supercharged engine. It was fitted with a special aluminium alloy cylinderhead, downdraught SU carburettor and gave 128 bhp.

There were three body styles available, a drophead coupe by Abbott, a sports tourer from Bertelli and a saloon from Carlton. They were priced between £620 and £695 which was more than the Railton (£500) and the SS Jaguar (£345). This was a very substantial difference to pay for exclusivity without a fashionable name on the keyring.

Production figures were about 30 cars up to mid 1938. The pictures are from the Geoffrey Last archive. Geoffrey was a pilot of note who won the Kings Cup Air Race in 1935 at 176 mph.