Ashton-Evans
A short-lived English automobile marque produced in Birmingham between 1919 and 1928.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Ashton-Evans was an English automobile marque associated with Birmingham production during the early post-First World War period. The cars were manufactured by Joseph Evans & Co., an engineering business based at Liverpool Street Mills that also produced railway locomotives and aircraft components. In 1919, a separate company, Ashton-Evans Motors Ltd, was formed to develop and market cars under the marque. The first Ashton-Evans design was created by E. Bailey, a designer with experience at Sunbeam and later J. Bedford. It was an unusual three-wheeler-like four-wheeled car. Its rear track was only about 8 inches, or 200 millimetres, which allowed the designers to avoid fitting a differential. The rear axle used quarter-elliptic suspension, while a torque tube and two rods located the axle. The design was technically distinctive but its commercial history is uncertain, and it is not known whether any examples were sold. In 1920, the company sought customer opinions about the characteristics of an “owner-driver’s ideal” car. The responses were translated into a specification calling for a water-cooled four-cylinder engine of no more than 12 taxable horsepower, quiet and low-vibration operation, easy starting, useful performance, and a gearbox that could be shifted quietly without double-declutching. The proposed car was also expected to accommodate three people across the front seat. J. Bedford designed a new model to meet this brief. The resulting car was known as the Ashton 10.5, and the Ashton-Evans name was temporarily omitted. Unlike the earlier experimental layout, the Ashton 10.5 used a conventional rear axle. Most cars associated with the marque were powered by approximately 1.5-litre, four-cylinder Coventry Simplex engines and used three-speed constant-mesh gearboxes with dog-clutch selection. Some early cars may have used two-cylinder engines, although the surviving historical record is uncertain. Customers could choose two-seat or four-seat open bodies. Production remained slow and was probably unprofitable. In 1923 the range was reduced to a single model, the 11/16, and the Ashton-Evans name returned to use. A factory fire in 1924 seriously disrupted the business. Automobile production was temporarily suspended in 1927 and did not restart. Estimates suggest that no more than approximately 250 cars may have been built, although the exact production total is not established. Ashton-Evans therefore represents a small British automotive venture that combined an engineering-company background with several unusual chassis and transmission ideas. Its brief production run, limited output, uncertain survival of early cars, and eventual closure place it among the minor British marques of the vintage-car era rather than among the country's enduring motor manufacturers.
History
Ashton-Evans emerged from the engineering activities of Joseph Evans & Co. at Liverpool Street Mills. The parent engineering business was involved not only in automobiles but also in railway locomotive manufacture and aircraft-component production. In 1919, Ashton-Evans Motors Ltd was established in Birmingham as a dedicated automotive enterprise. The marque's first known car was designed by E. Bailey, whose previous professional associations included Sunbeam and J. Bedford. It used an unconventional layout described historically as a four-wheeled three-wheeler. The rear wheels were positioned on an exceptionally narrow track of approximately 8 inches. This arrangement was intended to eliminate the need for a differential. The rear axle was supported by a quarter-elliptic spring and controlled through a torque tube and two rods. The commercial outcome of this design is unclear, and the available record does not establish that cars were sold in meaningful numbers. The company then turned to a more conventional vehicle-development process. In 1920, Mr Ashton-Evans sought opinions from prospective customers about the features they wanted in an owner-driver's car. The resulting brief called for a water-cooled four-cylinder engine below the 12-taxable-horsepower threshold, quiet and vibration-free running, straightforward starting, adequate power, and silent gear changes without double-declutching. The specification also envisaged seating for three people on the front seat. J. Bedford designed the vehicle intended to satisfy this brief. The model became the Ashton 10.5, during a period when the Ashton-Evans marque name was temporarily dropped. The car used a normal rear axle rather than the highly unusual arrangement of the earliest design. Most examples were fitted with 1.5-litre four-cylinder Coventry Simplex engines. Their transmissions were three-speed constant-mesh units using dog clutches for gear selection. The body range included both two-seat and four-seat open styles. Historical accounts also indicate that some early cars may have been powered by two-cylinder engines, though the evidence is not definitive. The business failed to achieve substantial production scale. Output was slow and the venture was probably not profitable. In 1923 the product range was narrowed to one model, the 11/16, and the Ashton-Evans name was restored. The 11/16 represented the marque's final identified single-model phase and was also promoted in period advertising in coupe form. A serious factory fire in 1924 damaged the enterprise and further weakened its ability to manufacture cars. Automotive production was suspended temporarily in 1927 and never resumed. Although the marque is associated with production continuing in some form until 1928, the surviving historical account treats 1927 as the decisive interruption of car manufacture. Total output may have reached roughly 250 vehicles, but that figure is an estimate rather than a confirmed factory production record. The company's history illustrates the difficulties faced by small British manufacturers during the vintage-car period. Ashton-Evans combined an established engineering background, ambitious technical ideas, and an attempt to use customer research in product planning, but it lacked the scale and financial strength needed for sustained automobile production. Its cars are consequently remembered mainly through specialist automotive history, surviving advertisements, and technical descriptions rather than through a continuing commercial brand.
- 1927
Car production suspended
[1]Automobile production was suspended and never resumed.
- 1924
Factory fire
[1]A fire badly affected the company's production facilities and operations.
- 1923
Range consolidated around the 11/16
[1]The company reduced its offering to a single 11/16 model and restored the Ashton-Evans name.
- 1920
Owner-driver specification developed
[1]Customer feedback was used to define the requirements for a quiet, practical, easy-starting automobile.
- 1920
Ashton 10.5 introduced
[1]J. Bedford's new car entered the range under the temporary Ashton name and adopted a conventional rear axle.
- 1919
Ashton-Evans Motors Ltd established
[1]A dedicated company was formed in Birmingham to produce automobiles associated with Joseph Evans & Co.
- 1919
First Bailey-designed car
[1]E. Bailey designed an unusual narrow-track four-wheeled car whose layout was intended to avoid the need for a differential.
Products and positioning
A small British owner-driver automobile marque emphasizing practical, quiet, easy-to-use cars and unusual engineering solutions.
Experimental passenger car · 1919
Early Bailey-designed car
The earliest known Ashton-Evans automobile was a highly unconventional four-wheeled design with an extremely narrow rear track of about 8 inches. Its unusual arrangement was intended to remove the need for a differential. The rear axle was supported by quarter-elliptic suspension and located using a torque tube and two rods. The historical record does not confirm whether this design achieved significant sales, or even whether any examples were sold.
Passenger car · 1920
Ashton 10.5
Designed by J. Bedford after the company gathered opinions from prospective owners, the Ashton 10.5 was intended as a practical owner-driver's car. Its specification included a water-cooled four-cylinder engine below 12 taxable horsepower, quiet operation, easy starting, and a gearbox designed to permit silent changes without double-declutching. It used a conventional rear axle and was offered with open two-seat and four-seat bodies.
Passenger car · 1923
Ashton-Evans 11/16
Introduced as the marque's single model in 1923, the 11/16 followed the company's move toward a simplified range. Cars associated with the marque generally used approximately 1.5-litre four-cylinder Coventry Simplex engines and three-speed constant-mesh transmissions with dog-clutch selection. Two- and four-seat open bodies were available, and a period advertisement also presented an 11/16 coupe.
Brand decisions
1927
Suspend automobile productionOtherBackground
The company had experienced slow output, probable financial weakness, and serious disruption following a 1924 fire.
Action taken
Car production was temporarily suspended in 1927.
Aftermath
Manufacturing never resumed. Historical estimates suggest that total production may have been no more than approximately 250 cars.
1923
Consolidate the range around the 11/16StrategyBackground
Slow and probably unprofitable production made a broad model range difficult to sustain.
Action taken
The company reduced the range to a single 11/16 model and brought the Ashton-Evans name back into use.
Aftermath
The simplified strategy did not prevent later disruption from a factory fire and the eventual end of automobile production.
1920
Use customer research to define an owner-driver carStrategyBackground
The company wanted to identify what buyers considered an ideal owner-driver automobile.
Action taken
It invited customer opinions and converted the responses into a specification emphasizing low taxable horsepower, quietness, easy starting, useful power, and simplified gear changing.
Aftermath
J. Bedford designed the Ashton 10.5 to meet the resulting brief, although production remained slow and commercially difficult.
Recent events
- 1927
Automobile production suspended and not resumed[1]
Other
Car production was temporarily suspended in 1927 and did not restart, bringing the marque's manufacturing activity to an end.
- 1924
Factory fire disrupts Ashton-Evans production[1]
Other
A fire badly affected production and contributed to the marque's later interruption of automobile manufacturing.
- 1920
Customer-led specification produces the Ashton 10.5[1]
Product launch
The company solicited customer views and used them to define a quiet, easy-starting, water-cooled four-cylinder owner-driver car. J. Bedford designed the resulting Ashton 10.5.
- 1919
Ashton-Evans Motors Ltd formed to develop automobiles[1]
Other
A new company was formed in Birmingham to produce cars connected with Joseph Evans & Co.'s engineering operations.
Sources1 sources
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