Douglas

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Douglas | Pre War British Sports Cars


It is not generally known that the makers of the famous horizontally opposed twin-cylinder motor-cycles produced a fine little sports car in the early 'twenties. This was based on the cyclecar which was marketed just before the start of the 1914-18 war, and, like the two-wheelers, featured a flat-twin engine. This was a water-cooled side-valve unit of 1,224-c.c. (92 x 92-mm.), driving through an aluminium, fabric-faced cone clutch and three-speed gearbox to a conventional final drive. The front suspension was by semi-elliptics, but the rear made use of a horizontal helical spring.

Not many sports Douglases were built, but those that did appear impressed everyone with their acceleration and the exceptional smoothness of the twin-cylinder engine. Racing cars were also constructed, and, although extremely fast, seemed to have suffered from a series of misfortunes. In any case, the Bristol concern found that the demand for their popular motor­cycles caused production to be concentrated on them, and the car was shelved.

The Douglas type of vehicle still has many admirers, and there is no doubt that certain manufacturers favour the flat-twin engine, particularly the air-cooled type. The modern version has such an even torque that it is difficult to tell it from a multi- cylinder power unit. It is, in addition, fairly cheap to produce, and, what is more important, easy to maintain. I should not be in the least surprised to see some flat-twin sports cars making their appearance in the near future.
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