The Atalanta was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

manufactured from 1937 until 1939 by Atalanta Motors Ltd in Staines, Middlesex. Two models were made.

History

The 1937 car used Albert Gough's somewhat erratic 4-cylinder overhead-cam 1496 cc 78 bhp and 1996 cc 98 bhp engines with three valves and two spark plugs per cylinder which had been previously fitted to some

Frazer Nash Frazer Nash was a brand of British sports car manufactured from 1922 first by Frazer Nash Limited founded by engineer Archibald Frazer-Nash. On its financial collapse in 1927 a new company, AFN Limited, was incorporated. Control of AFN passed t ...

es where Gough had worked. An Arnott supercharged version was also available. Three or four-speed gearboxes were offered. The car had a tubular steel chassis and all round independent suspension using coil springs. Two-seat open sports and two-seat drophead coupé bodies built by Abbott were available. From 1938 the car could be had with a 4·3-litre V-12

Lincoln-Zephyr The Lincoln-Zephyr is a line of luxury cars that was produced by the Lincoln division of Ford from 1936 until 1942. Bridging the gap between the Ford V8 DeLuxe and the Lincoln Model K (in both size and price), it expanded Lincoln to a second ...

engine giving 112 bhp which proved to be the more popular. The car had a 3-speed gearbox. A four-seat version on a slightly longer chassis was made as well as the two-seaters. A 1496cc version raced in the 1938 Le Mans 24 hour race driven by Charles Morrison & Neil Watson (one of the company founders). The car retired with a broken driveshaft. The cars were very expensive and the outbreak of war stopped production after only about 20 cars were made. The company continued in existence making pumps and becoming Atalanta Engineering Ltd.

RGS Atalanta

Richard Gaylard Shattock revived the name after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

with the RGS Atalanta, offering complete cars with fiberglass bodywork or parts kits until 1958.

Lea-Francis Lea-Francis was a British motor manufacturing company that began by building bicycles. History R. H. Lea and G. I. Francis started the business in Coventry in 1895. They branched out into car manufacturing in 1903 and motorcycles in 1911. Le ...

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

and

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

engines were used, at least 1 car was equipped with an

Aston Martin DB2/4 The Aston Martin DB2/4 is a grand tourer produced by Aston Martin from 1953 until 1957. It was available as a 2+2 hatchback saloon, drophead coupé (DHC) and 2-seat fixed-head coupé. A small number of Bertone bodied spiders were commissioned ...

2.6 L or 3 L triple SU H6 carburettor engine. Gaisbergrennen 2013 078

In the late 1930s there was also an open sports version of the Atalanta, with a huge 7L American side-valve engine and an 8- position, gated gear change. Also a smaller-engined open sports version using an OHV engine with a blower.

Other cars with the Atalanta name

There was another unconnected

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily known ...

company based in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

, London which built a few 9 hp four-cylinder cars from 1916 to 1917. Atalanta was a name also used on a car made by the rather mysterious Owen of London, England in about 1910. This company existed between 1899 and 1935 but seems to have made very few if any cars.

was also a sports-tourer version of the 20/25 hp

Armstrong Siddeley Armstrong Siddeley was a British engineering group that operated during the first half of the 20th century. It was formed in 1919 and is best known for the production of luxury vehicles and aircraft engines. The company was created following ...

line, sold between 1936 and 1938.Bill Smith: Armstrong Siddeley Motors; Veloce, Dorchester UK, 2006, pp.343-344 A new sports car manufactured by

Atalanta Motors Atalanta Motors is a British car company created in 2011 by Martyn Corfield to relaunch the dormant 1930s Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two ...

Ltd of Staffordshire was shown in 2012 and at the 2014 Hampton Court Palace Concours d'Elegance.

External links

Photographs and cutaway drawings of the cars

References

{{reflist, 2 Sports cars Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1937 Cars introduced in 1937

History

RGS Atalanta

Other cars with the Atalanta name

See also

External links

References