BSA, Birmingham, UK, 1907-1940


"Birmingham Small Arms," abbreviated as BSA, has held a modest place in automotive history, but its fate is closely linked to many firms. She has been producing cars since 1907. First, an exact copy of the Italian Itala-40HP was made. In 1910, BSA bought the English company Daimler, and its cars turned into smaller and simplified copies of the prestigious Daimler valveless engines. In 1912, with great efforts, the BSA began to equip them with all-metal bodies. In 1919, the lightweight BSA-10HP cars with a 2-cylinder V-shaped air-cooled engine appeared. In parallel with them, until 1926, 6-cylinder models were produced according to the Daimler model.
After a short break, the BSA decided to re-enter the automotive market, but now with inexpensive middle-class cars. In 1931, she acquired Lanchester and two years later launched the production of passenger cars on the Lanchester chassis under the BSA brand name. They were built at the Daimler factory in Coventry. At the same time, the BSA Motorcycle Division developed a light three-wheeled vehicle in the form of Morgan machines. It was put into production in 1930 under the brand name "Beezay". In 1932, he received the fourth wheel, and a year later - a new 4-cylinder engine of 1.2 liters. In 1934, the Beezay disappeared from the company catalog to appear next year in the guise of a 2-seater front-wheel drive sports car Scout. The latter was produced until 1940. It was the most successful BSA car.

Hits: 1012