The Humber Pullman is a four-door

limousine A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment. A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a pr ...

which was introduced by the British

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between t ...

company in 1930 as a successor to the Humber 20/65 hp and long-wheelbase version of the

Humber Snipe The Humber Snipe was a four-door luxury saloon introduced by British-based Humber Limited for 1930 as a successor to the Humber 20/55 hp (which remained in the catalogue as 20/65) at the same time as the similar but slightly longer Humber ...

. In 1939 an upgraded version was launched badged as the Humber Imperial, but postwar the car reverted to the Pullman name. Between 1948 and 1954 the car was offered with a central partition (for chauffeured use) as the Pullman, but without a partition was badged as the Humber Imperial for owner-drivers. The Pullman / Imperial was not offered for sale to the public during 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 opposi ...

; the factory's limited output were used as staff cars. It returned to the market in 1945 and remained in production till 1954. At the present time only eight units of this vehicle are still extant.

Before World War II

The 1930 car came with a 3498cc straight six cylinder overhead inlet side exhaust valve engine and a claimed power output of 80 hp (60 kW). The classic limousine style body featured rear- hinged doors and in some respects resembled the Humber Snipe 80 with which it shared its engine, but the Pullman was longer and wider. For this heavy car Humber claimed a top speed of 73 mph (117 km/h). As well as the limousine,

Landaulette A landaulet, also known as a landaulette, is a car body style where the rear passengers are covered by a convertible top. Often the driver is separated from the rear passengers by a division, as with a limousine. During the first half of the 20 ...

and Sedanca de Ville bodies were available. Humber, the manufacturer lost its independence in 1931 when the

Rootes Group The Rootes Group or Rootes Motors Limited was a British automobile manufacturer and, separately, a major motor distributors and dealers business. Run from London's West End, the manufacturer was based in the Midlands and the distribution and de ...

acquired a majority share holding in it. A coupé was added to the body range in 1935 for one year only. A rebodied Pullman with two-piece V windscreen appeared in 1936, sharing the wheelbase of its predecessor, but with the overall length of the car increased to . Engine size was now raised to 4086cc while claimed power was 100 hp (75 kW). The power increase was also evident from the claimed top speed which now edged up to 75 mph (121 km/h). The chassis gained independent front suspension, and hydraulic brakes were fitted in 1940. As well as the factory body options, some cars were supplied in chassis form to independent coachbuilders, especially

Thrupp & Maberly Thrupp & Maberly was a British coachbuilding business based in the West End of London, England. Coach-makers to Queen Victoria they operated for more than two centuries until 1967 when they closed while in the ownership of Rootes Group. Mr Thru ...

. In 1939 the Pullman was joined by the Humber Imperial or Snipe Imperial which shared the engine with the Pullman, but was built on the shorter Snipe chassis and correspondingly brisker, with an advertised top speed of 81 mph (130 km/h). The car nevertheless remained spacious, and was favoured for use by British government ministers during the 1940s. Four and Six-light saloons and drophead coupé bodies were available. Civilian availability ended in 1940 when the factory was given over to production of the ’Ironside’ Reconnaissance Car. However, production of the newly introduced "razor-edge" Pullman continued throughout the war for the government and the military.

After World War II

1947 Humber Pullman sedanca de ville by H J Mulliner

The Pullman returned to the market in 1945 with seven-seat limousine and landaulette bodies, to be replaced in 1948 by a reworked and lengthened version on a lengthened chassis and designated the Humber Pullman Mk II. From 1948 the car was available with or without a partition between the front and rear of the cabin. The version with a division retained the Pullman name, while for the mechanically identical owner-driver version the Humber Imperial name was now revived. The headlamps were no longer standalone but fitted into the

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...

. The Mark III version introduced in 1951 was little changed from the Mark II, apart from being even longer and having an all- synchromesh gearbox. At the Mk III Humber Pullman was the same length as the

Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud is a luxury automobile produced by Rolls-Royce Limited from April 1955 to March 1966. It was the core model of the Rolls-Royce range during that period. The Silver Cloud replaced the Silver Dawn and was, in turn, r ...

which would emerge from Crewe in 1955. A total of 2200 Mk II and III Pullmans, and 1526 Imperials, were manufactured. In 1953 more power was offered for the Mark IV Pullmans and Imperials, still with straight six cylinder engines, but now of 4139cc with

overhead valve An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a ''pushrod engine'', is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier flathead engines, where the valves were located b ...

s, and published power output of 113 hp (84 kW) or 116 hp (87 kW). Production ended in 1954. File:1947 Humber Pullman (4657472829).jpg, 1947 Humber Pullman Sedanca de Ville 1950 mk2 Humber pullman.jpg, 1949 Humber Pullman Mark II Humber dash.jpg Humber Pullman view to front.jpg Humber Pullman Mk2 rear seat.jpg StateLibQld 1 213884 Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip wave to the crowds from a Humber car during their visit to Brisbane in 1954.jpg

Imperial revival

In 1964 the company revived the Humber Imperial name for a top-of-the-line

Humber Super Snipe The Humber Super Snipe is a car which was produced from 1938 to 1967 by British-based Humber Limited. Pre-war Super Snipe The Super Snipe was introduced in October 1938, derived by combining the four-litre inline six-cylinder engine from the ...

, distinguished by a slightly lower different-shaped coupé-like vinyl-clad roof. Automatic transmission was standard and there was a more luxuriously appointed interior. The range of large Humbers, including the Imperial, was withdrawn by Rootes in 1967.

References

{{reflist Pullman Rootes vehicles 1960s cars Cars introduced in 1930 Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Executive cars