Argyll (car)

The Argyll was Scottish automobile manufactured from 1899 to 1932. The company was founded by Alex Govan, whose first voiturette was copied from the contemporary Renault; this car featured a 2¾hp De Dion engine and shaft-drive. 1901 models featured an upgraded engine of 5hp; cars made in 1902 were upgraded even further, using 8hp units. Soon there appeared a 10hp twin with radiator tubes forming the sides of the hood; in 1904 the company introduced a range of front-radiatored Aster-engined cars. One of these was a 10hp of 1985cc; others were fours of 3054cc, 3686cc, and 4849cc. All cars featured Govan's rather awkward gearbox, which had a T-shaped gate and separate reverse and change-speed levers. Argyll had now become Scotland's biggest marque, and soon moved from its premises in Bridgeton, Glasgow to a grand terracotta factory in the suburb of Alexandria. This was never used to capacity, and the company began a gentle decline with Govan's death in 1907. The famed "Flying Fifteen" was introduced in 1910, as was a six-cylinder, Rubery four-wheel brakes were available from 1911 on, and in 1912 the single sleeve-valve engine designed by company director Baillie P. Burt and J. P. McCollum began production; the entire range featured Burt-McCollum engines by 1914. Argyll changed hands that year, and production was on a small scale throughout the 1920s (starting with the revival pre-war 15·9hp model in 1920 and the introduction of a 1½-liter model in 1922), and the company folded for good in 1932.