Argyll (automobile)

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The Argyll was a 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 2¾ hp De Dion engine and shaft-drive. 1901 models featured an upgraded engine of 5 hp; cars made in 1902 were upgraded even further, using 8 hp units. Soon there appeared a 10 hp 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 10 hp of 1985 cc; others were fours of 3054 cc, 3686 cc, and 4849 cc. 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 and went into liquidation in 1908.

Production restarted in 1910 with a new range of cars including the famed "Flying Fifteen", and a six-cylinder model. The 12/14 was widely sold as a taxi even being exported to New York. Four-wheel brakes designed by J.M. Rubury of Argyll and patented on 18th March 1910 by Henri Perrot and John Meredith Rubury (Patent number 6807)^[1] 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 in 1914 and the Alexandria factory was sold to the Royal Navy for torpedo production. Car production was resumed on a small scale in the original Bridgeton works under the control of John Brimlow who had previously run the repair department. The first product from the new company was a revival of the pre-war 15·9 hp model, now with electric starter but few were sold. In 1922 it was joined by a 1½-litre sleeve valve model and in 1926 by the 12/40 sports.

The company made a final appearance at the London Motor Show in 1927 and the last cars were probably made in 1928 though still advertised until Argyll closed in 1932.

The name was re-used in 1976 by a new Argyll company who made a mid-engined sports car in Lochgilphead.

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