Humber was a British automobile marque which could date its beginnings to Thomas Humber’s bicycle company founded in 1868. In 1931 it was taken over by the Rootes brothers to become part of the Rootes Group. The range focused on luxury models, such as the Humber Super Snipe.
History
The first car was produced in 1898 and was a three-wheeled tricar with the first conventional four-wheeled car appearing in 1901. 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. In 1913 Humber was the second largest manufacturer of cars in the United Kingdom.
In 1925 Humber moved into the production of commercial vehicles with the purchase of Commer. In 1928 Hillman was added but independence ended in 1931 when the Rootes Brothers bought a majority shareholding.
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.
Main Models
• Humber 8 1902
• Humber 12 1902
• Humber 20 1903
• Humberette 1904 and 1911-15
• Humber 8/10 1905
• Humber 10/12 1905-07
• Humber 30/40 1908-09
• Humber 11 1912
• Humber 10 1919-21
• Humber 15.9 1919-25
• Humber 11.4 and 12/25 1921-25
• Humber 8/18 1922-25
• Humber 15/40 1924-28
• Humber 9/20 and 9/28 1925-30
• Humber 14/40 1926-29
• Humber 20/55 and 20/65 1926-29
• Humber 16/50 1928-32
• Humber 23.8 Snipe and Pullman 1929-35
• Humber 16-60 Snipe 1933-35
• Humber 12 1933-37
• Humber 18 Snipe and Pullman 1936-40
• Humber Snipe 1945-52
• Humber Pullman and Imperial 1945-53
• Humber Hawk 1945-55
• Humber Super Snipe 1945-67
• Humber Sceptre 1963-76