THE end of the Second World War marked the beginning of a golden age for British motoring with a plethora of new types and designs making quantum leaps. But some did it all in the best possible taste and tempered the latest thinking with tradition and all the trimmings. One such was Lanchester which produced a new incarnation of its famous 10 model. Known as the LD10 this car was one of the first post-war cars to be what could then be described as a luxury compact model. It was launched as a smaller companion to the Daimler range which was part of the same parent company and was craftsman-built. In fact it was among the smallest volume produced cars from the company and was a quality gem in every way. It may have looked a bit everyday from outside but the LD10 was loaded with technology and quality construction. Initially produced with a steel body by Briggs of Dagenham, later models were fitted with coachbuilt Barker alloy bodywork. Other body variations included an Abbott-bodied drop head coupe and even a Hooper-bodied van. The four-cylinder ohv engine had a rating of 10hp and a claimed power output of 40bhp. But the tasty bit was the transmission which was of the epicyclic pre-selector type with a fluid flywheel and four forward speeds. All of this was allied to coil spring independent front suspension with an anti-roll bar. The base line was that the car was amazingly smooth in operation and the engine was among the most powerful of contemporary 10hp units but its performance was a little on the dowdy side due to high overall weight. The LD10 may be a forgotten car these days but it heralded the luxurious smaller car of the present era. Lanchester, based in Sparkbrook, Birmingham, ceased manufacturing in 1955 but because it was part of Daimler, the name became part of Jaguar in 1960. The rights to the Lanchester brand now belong to Tata Motors of India, which purchased Jaguar from Ford in March 2008. Interestingly, although the company has been dormant since the last Lanchester rolled of the line in 1955, the Lanchester Motor Company Limited was recently still registered as active with accounts filed each year - though it is currently marked "non-trading". So is Lanchester quietly ticking over silently in the back of the Tata Group's garage waiting to drive out with a luxury small car towards 2020? Fanciful thinking maybe but in these days of constant surprises in the automotive world it is always wise to never say never. | 
