| Manufacturer | Paramount Cars Ltd |
|---|---|
| Production | 1950-1956 production - 72 approx[1] |
| Body style | saloon |
| Engine | 1172 cc later 1500 ccStraight-4 |
| Transmission | Three speed manual |
| Wheelbase | 96 in (2,438 mm) later 102 in (2,591 mm)[2] |
| Length | 166 in (4,216 mm)[2] |
| Width | 66 in (1,676 mm)[2] |
| Curb weight | 2,040 lb (930 kg) to 2,350 lb (1,070 kg).[2] |
Paramount Cars was a British car made between 1950 and 1956. It was initially manufactured in Swadlincote, moving shortly after to Melbourne (again in Derbyshire) and then to Leighton Buzzard.
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Founded by WA Hudson and S Underwood from Derbyshire, the Paramount had an aluminium over wood frame body with BMW like grille and was mounted on a separate tubular steel chassis with front transverse and rear semi elliptical leaf springs. It was originally intended to have Alvis engine and suspension but to reduce cost the production versions used Ford 10 components including the 1172 cc side valve engines, but fitted with twin SU carburettors, which resulted in poor performance. The car was however well built and equipped and was listed in both 2 and 4 seat versions.
In 1953, the company was bought by Camden Motors and production moved to Leighton Buzzard and the Ford Consul 1500 cc engine was an option in a longer chassis as also was a Wade or Shorrocks supercharger. The price was now an uncompetitive £1009 and production ceased in 1956 after about 70 cars had been made.
After the end of car production the remaining chassis were sold off and several were fitted with Rochdale glass fibre bodies.
There was no connection with the two separate American Paramount Car companies of Azusa, California (1923-1924) and New York (1927-1931).
A 1500 cc car tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1956 had a top speed of 72.4 mph (116.5 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 31.2 seconds. A fuel consumption of 25.6 miles per imperial gallon (11.0 L/100 km; 21.3 mpg-US) was recorded. The test car cost £1013 including taxes. [3]