“An Expedition Through History”

Auto World Museum

The Collection

1903 Humberette

 

The Humber is a British automobile that dates its

beginning with Thomas Humber's bicycle company founded

in 1868. The first car was produced in 1898 and was a three-

wheeled tricar with the first conventional four-wheeled car

appearing in 1901.  The Humber, like many other Marques,

evolved from a company which had originally made pedal

cycles.

 

The first cars had two- or four-cylinder engines, but

the tiny single-cylinder-engined Humberette succeeded them.

The name Humberette literally means ‘small Humber’.  The

Humber was a sturdy and well-made machine that carries a

useful payload under very little power. A Humber would have

been displayed as one of the many European cars presented

at the Louisiana Exposition

held in St. Louis in 1904.

 

Under the Humberette’s hood is a 611 cc, 5 HP, automatic inlet, side exhaust valve 1-cylinder engine with a 92.1 x 92.1 mm bore and stroke.  At a weight of 650 pounds, the Humberette can travel at a maximum speed of 25 mph.  The rear driven vehicle uses a Longuemare float-type carburetor. The Humberette features a De Dion style of front-mounted water-cooled engine, with a leather-covered cone clutch, a two-speed gearbox controlled by levers under the steering wheel, as well as drive shaft to the rear wheels – the last being a real novelty in the early 1900s.

 

Autoclassic.com. “Classic Car Resources”. The History of Classic Cars: 1903 Humberette. (2002) Astutech. <http://www.autoclassic.com/features /classic_car_history/humberette.html> (7/10/06)

 

Wikipedia. “Humber (car)” (6/29/2006) <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php    ?title=Humber _%28car%29&oldid=61195427>. (7/10/06)