Description

The Armadale Tri-car was produced from 1906 (Wandsworth) to 1907 (Northwood Motor & Engineering Works), it was based upon the Toboggan car that was previously manufactured in Shoreditch, London. The original Tobogan 4hp engine gave the car a top speed of 35mph but this was replaced by a more powerful unit in the Armadale. The transmission was a friction drive type (CVT) which was designed by Lambert (a car manufacturer based in USA), this CVT may sound unusual but it was actually adopted by several other car companies in the early 1900s. The drive system would have been quite inefficient and only really suited to low power transmission (so that less power is wasted, less heat has to be rejected and less wear on the discs).

In 1906 the company also launched a more conventional 4-wheeled car with a 2.7ltr 16hp engine and this model was intended to compete in the Isle of Man TT race that year. However, the car did not make the start for some reason and soon after production was halted at Wandsworth. The following year production was re-established in Northwood but was halted again by the end of that year. Never-the-less, Northwood Motor & Engineering Works continued as a business until 1972!