Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 84: The Rise of Hampton Motor Group

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 84: The Rise of Hampton Motor Group

Earlier in this series, I briefly described the rebooted Generations challenge and how it worked. Now that the first round has concluded, however, I feel that the time has come to give a summary on each of the offerings from the company I had entered in this challenge, plus a few more.

The first three cars in the Hampton Motor Group's range, from left to right: the entry-level Ferret, the upmarket Valiant and the Nevis off-road truck.

According to company lore, the Hampton Motor Group began manufacturing cars in 1948, based out of a newly rebuilt factory in Warwick, England. However, it was not until 1956 that they began selling cars in North America. For this first round, I entered three of their cars: the Ferret, Valiant and Nevis. While the Ferret was intended as an economy car, the Valiant was aimed at wealthier buyers who could afford more creature comforts. The Nevis, meanwhile, was a rugged off-roader built to carry heavy loads over rough terrain.

Mechanically, the Nevis had simpler underpinnings (separate chassis, leaf-sprung solid axles front and rear, and an overhead-valve engine) than the Ferret and Valiant. Both of them utilized unitary construction with an independent strut front suspension and a coil-sprung live rear axle. Also, the Ferret and Valiant were powered by overhead-cam engines, unlike the Nevis, and the latter had a more upmarket interior, in addition to being available with an automatic transmission.

All three of these cars received generally positive reviews, with special mention going to the Valiant for winning the Senior category on account of being better value for money than its contemporaries. However, these three cars were not the only ones in the company's lineup for 1956.

Three more new additions to the Hampton model range for 1956, from left to right: the Shrike, a lightweight sports coupe, the Peregrine, a larger coupe for those with bigger budgets, and the Transtar, a cheap and durable van sold only to fleet buyers when new.

During 1956, Hampton bolstered its lineup with two sports cars and a panel van. The Shrike was their entry-level offering, built on the Ferret's platform, and powered by an enlarged version of that car's straight-four engine. The larger Peregrine, meanwhile, had double-wishbone suspension at each corner, and utilized a 3.2-litre version of the Valiant's straight-six for propulsion. The final addition to the Hampton range was the Transtar, a four-cylinder delivery van sold only to fleets. However, the Transtar's engine was a bespoke overhead-valve unit, chosen in the interests of reliability.

And so the expansion of the Hampton car-building empire was complete - for now. However, this is only the first part of the story - so stay tuned for the next one.