Eric Longden

Eric Longden was a British cyclecar brand produced between 1920 and 1927. The marque originated with Eric Longden, an Australian racing driver who established a small-scale automobile manufacturing operation in Britain after the First World War. Its products belonged to the cyclecar sector, a market positioned between motorcycles and conventional small cars. Cyclecars typically emphasized light weight, relatively simple mechanical construction, and lower purchase and running costs than larger passenger cars. The brand’s production arrangements changed in 1922, when manufacture passed to the Air Navigation and Engineering Company (ANEC) of Addlestone, Surrey. ANEC was also associated with the Blériot-Whippet automobile, and its involvement gave the Eric Longden range a more established engineering and manufacturing setting. The transfer appears to have marked the transition from a marque associated directly with its originator to one produced within a broader specialist vehicle enterprise. The 1922 range consisted of four models. The 8 hp and 10 hp cars used V-twin engines. The 8 hp version employed a side-valve engine of approximately 1.0 litre, while the 10 hp model used an overhead-valve engine of about 1.1 litres. The remaining two models were powered by side-valve four-cylinder engines: the 9 hp had a displacement of approximately 1.1 litres, and the 11 hp used a 1.3-litre unit. The four-cylinder cars shared a 2,489-millimetre wheelbase, reflecting the brand’s attempt to offer greater refinement and capacity within the compact cyclecar format. The 11 hp model was revised during 1923. Its engine capacity was reduced slightly to 1.25 litres, while its wheelbase was increased to 2,540 millimetres. From 1924 onward, this revised 11 hp car became the sole model offered under the Eric Longden name. The consolidation suggests a move away from a broad multi-engine range toward a single surviving model, although the available reference material does not document detailed sales, production-volume, or marketing results. Eric Longden production ended in 1927. The marque is therefore best understood as a short-lived British specialist automobile brand of the interwar period rather than as a continuing corporate automotive company. Its historical significance lies in its representation of the British cyclecar movement, its connection with Eric Longden’s racing and engineering background, and its later association with ANEC. No current owner, successor brand, active business, or surviving official website is identified in the available material.

Eric Longden was a British cyclecar marque active from 1920 until 1927. The brand was established by Eric Longden, an Australian racing driver who became involved in automobile manufacture in Britain during the early postwar period. Its vehicles emerged during the expansion of the cyclecar market, when manufacturers sought to provide inexpensive and mechanically straightforward alternatives to full-sized cars. These vehicles generally occupied a niche between motorcycles and conventional automobiles, appealing to buyers interested in modest transport with lower mechanical complexity and operating costs. In its first phase, the marque was manufactured under Longden’s direction. In 1922, production was taken over by the Air Navigation and Engineering Company at Addlestone in Surrey. ANEC was a specialist British engineering and automobile concern that also produced the Blériot-Whippet. The change placed the Eric Longden cars within a company with wider manufacturing interests, although the marque retained its own model identity. The 1922 product range comprised four cars. The 8 hp and 10 hp variants used V-twin engines. The smaller 8 hp car had a side-valve engine displacing approximately 1.0 litre, while the 10 hp model used an overhead-valve engine of about 1.1 litres. Alongside them were two side-valve four-cylinder cars. The 9 hp model used an engine of roughly 1.1 litres, and the 11 hp model had a 1.3-litre engine. The four-cylinder variants shared a 2,489-millimetre wheelbase, providing a larger and potentially smoother configuration than the V-twin cars while remaining within the compact cyclecar class. The range was revised in 1923. The 11 hp model received a slightly smaller 1.25-litre engine and a longer 2,540-millimetre wheelbase. From 1924, this updated 11 hp became the only Eric Longden model listed as available. The reduction from four models to one indicates that the company concentrated its remaining production and sales effort around the larger four-cylinder offering. The available historical reference does not establish whether the change was caused by demand, manufacturing economics, regulatory conditions, or other commercial pressures. The marque continued until 1927 and then disappeared from production. No evidence in the supplied material indicates that the name was revived, absorbed into a modern automotive company, or maintained as an active consumer brand. Eric Longden is consequently remembered as a small British interwar automobile marque, with its history tied to the cyclecar movement, Longden’s personal involvement, and the manufacturing role of ANEC. Detailed information about production quantities, dealer networks, advertising, pricing, and individual surviving vehicles is not available in the supplied reference.

• 1927

  Production ended

  [1]Eric Longdenen.wikipedia.org

  Manufacture of Eric Longden cyclecars ended after a seven-year production period.

• 1924

  Range consolidated

  [1]Eric Longdenen.wikipedia.org

  The revised 11 hp became the sole model offered by the marque.

• 1923

  11 hp model revised

  [1]Eric Longdenen.wikipedia.org

  The 11 hp car received a 1.25-litre engine and a longer 2,540-millimetre wheelbase.

• 1922

  Production transferred to ANEC

  [1]Eric Longdenen.wikipedia.org

  The Air Navigation and Engineering Company of Addlestone, Surrey, took over manufacture. The range comprised 8 hp, 10 hp, 9 hp, and 11 hp models.

• 1920

  Marque established

  [1]Eric Longdenen.wikipedia.org

  Eric Longden began manufacturing cyclecars in Britain under the direction of the Australian racing driver Eric Longden.

A lightweight, economical British cyclecar marque offering small-displacement cars with both V-twin and four-cylinder engines during the 1920s.

• Cyclecar · 1922

  Eric Longden 8 hp

  The 8 hp was one of the four models listed in the 1922 Eric Longden range. It used a side-valve V-twin engine with approximately 1.0 litre displacement. The car represented the smaller-engined end of the marque’s cyclecar offering and was designed around the lightweight, economical format associated with the class.

• Cyclecar · 1922

  Eric Longden 10 hp

  The 10 hp model was a 1922 V-twin cyclecar with an overhead-valve engine of approximately 1.1 litres. Its valve arrangement distinguished it from the smaller side-valve 8 hp and reflected the range’s use of different engine configurations within a compact vehicle line.

• Cyclecar · 1922

  Eric Longden 9 hp

  The 9 hp was one of two four-cylinder, side-valve models listed in 1922. It used an engine of approximately 1.1 litres and shared a 2,489-millimetre wheelbase with the 11 hp. It offered a four-cylinder alternative to the marque’s V-twin cars while remaining within the compact cyclecar segment.

• Cyclecar · 1922

  Eric Longden 11 hp

  The 11 hp was the largest model in the 1922 range and used a side-valve four-cylinder engine initially displacing approximately 1.3 litres. In 1923 it was revised with a slightly smaller 1.25-litre engine and an extended 2,540-millimetre wheelbase. From 1924 onward, this revised model was the sole Eric Longden offering until production ended.

• 1923

  Revision of the 11 hp modelGeneration change

  Background

  The 11 hp was the largest model in the range and remained in production after the other listed variants were discontinued.

  Action taken

  The engine was reduced from approximately 1.3 litres to 1.25 litres, and the wheelbase was lengthened from 2,489 to 2,540 millimetres.

  Aftermath

  From 1924, the revised 11 hp became the only model offered by Eric Longden.

  Source

• 1922

  Manufacturing transferred to ANECStrategy

  Background

  The marque moved from production associated with Eric Longden to manufacture by the Air Navigation and Engineering Company in Addlestone, Surrey.

  Action taken

  ANEC assumed production of the Eric Longden cyclecars while also manufacturing the Blériot-Whippet.

  Aftermath

  The brand continued with a four-model range in 1922, but later narrowed its offering to the revised 11 hp model.

  Source

1. 1Eric Longdenen.wikipedia.org