Although the Palladium was introduced just before the First World War in twin-cylinder, chain-drive form, it was not until 1922 that the concern came to the front as the sponsors of a sporting type of vehicle. The speed model, as it was known, was a remarkable car in every way, and was extremely handsome. Offered as standard in open four-seater form only, it quickly made a name for itself in competition work. A feature of the official works-entered Palladiums in trials was the fact that they invariably competed complete with crew of four, all garbed in spotless white overalls.
It was genuinely capable of a mile a minute, and could be relied on to average over 35 m.p.g. on long runs. The success of the cars was such and the publicity so overwhelming that the small company could not possibly cope with the huge stacks of orders that came their way. Agents got tired of making excuses to would-be purchasers as to why their orders remained unfulfilled, and the public became thoroughly fed up with the slow and uncertain delivery. The cars, at any rate, disappeared from the market about 1925.
As regards technical details, the Palladium was a straightforward design. The first cars made use of the superb Hotchkiss engine which contributed so much to the success of the bull-nosed Morris cars. Later editions were fitted with the equally fine Dorman power unit of 1,496-c.c. (69 x 100-mm.). This was a side-valve unit with a three-bearing crankshaft, and phosphor-bronze timing wheels were used to drive the camshaft. Lubrication was of the forced-feed type with a plunger pump driven from the crankshaft; the crankshaft itself was fitted with dippers to pick up oil for the big-ends. Ignition was by magneto, and a Claudel-Hobson carburetter was used. The four-speed gearbox had ratios of 4.3, 7, 10 and 16.2 to 1, and a dry-plate clutch was fitted. The Palladium was also amongst the first British cars to be offered with front-wheel brakes.
These silver and black cars would have had an immense public if only the manufacturers had seen fit to make allowances for their exceptional popularity. As it was, the ones that were delivered gave reliable service to many proud owners for years afterwards.
