The Leyland Eight, or Straight Eight, was a luxury car made by Leyland Motors from 1920 to 1923, designed by chief engineer J G Parry-Thomas and his assistant Reid Railton to be the finest car available. It was the first British car with a straight-eight engine, and managing director Henry Spurrier told his board it was better than a Rolls-Royce in every respect. The engine had a single centrally mounted overhead camshaft, hemispherical combustion chambers and an 89 mm bore, in 6,920 cc or 7,266 cc forms, and the brakes had vacuum servo assistance but acted on the rear wheels only. Leyland was short of cash, so production was cut to a target of one hundred, and only about 18 were made.
Facts
Engine Class Connections
Exemplifies
Source Leyland Eight (Wikipedia)
Of Make
Source Leyland Eight (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Leyland Eight (Wikipedia)
Lead
The Leyland Eight or Straight Eight was a luxury car produced by Leyland Motors from 1920 to 1923.
Engine and transmission
The engine, with cylinder block and upper crankcase cast in one piece, had a single centrally mounted overhead camshaft, hemispherical combustion chambers, and an 89 mm (3.5 in) bore.
Production and sales
In the end, only about 18 were made.
Lead, country of origin
It was the first British car with a straight-eight engine and Leyland managing director Henry Spurrier II (d.1942) told the company's board that it was better than a Rolls-Royce in every respect.
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