Humber

Humber was a British Manufacturer of Cars

The company had factories in Beeston near Nottingham and Coventry. The Beeston factory produced a more expensive range known as Beeston-Humbers but the factory closed in 1908 after financial problems. Before the First World War a wide range of models were produced from the 600 cc Humberette to several 6 cylinder 6 litre models.

1925 Humber moved into the production of commercial vehicles with the purchase of Commer.

1931 Independence ended when the Rootes Brothers bought a majority shareholding to become part of the Rootes Group. The range focused on luxury models, such as the Humber Super Snipe.

WW2 During World War II, several armoured cars were produced under the Humber name.

In the postwar era, Humber's mainstay products included the four-cylinder Hawk and six-cylinder Super Snipe. Being a choice of businessmen and officialdom alike, Humbers gained a reputation for beautifully-appointed interiors and build quality.

Its last car was the Humber Sceptre, an upmarket version of the Hillman Minx. The marque was shelved in 1975 when all Hillmans became badged as Chryslers. The Hillman Hunter was subsequently badged as a Chrysler until production ceased in 1979 when Chrysler's European division was sold to Peugeot and the marque renamed Talbot. The Talbot marque was abandoned at the end of 1986 on passenger cars, although it was continued on vans for six years afterwards.

The world's largest collection of Humber cars can be viewed at the Marshalls Post-Vintage Humber Car Museum in Hull. Includes 21 Humber cars dating from 1932-1970 on permanent display, plus 24 unrestored cars. When the Queen Mother visited Western Australia in the 1950's, a Humber was shipped over for her. It was left in a paddock, and was rediscovered and verified in 2002. It has since been restored and is currently privately owned.

Sources of Information

[1] Wikipedia