Icons of the British Automotive Industry Quiz

Answer: The Leaping Cat

Rolls-Royce is a luxury car brand founded in 1904 by Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. The iconic Rolls-Royce grille is an enduring symbol of "status and presence". The badge, with the letters "RR" in between the words "Rolls" and "Royce", is always in black. The Pantheon grille is inspired by the Roman temple and when viewed from the front, gives an illusion of symmetry. The Spirit of Ecstasy, affixed to the bonnet, is a silver figurine of a female poised for flight.

The Leaping Cat is the bonnet ornament of the Jaguar marque.

This question was branded Phoenix Rising by team member purelyqing.

Answer: Like the V.W. Beetle, the engine was in the boot rather than the bonnet

The Triumph Spitfire engine was up front in the bonnet (hood) of the car, not the boot (trunk). In an effort to compete with other small cars like the Austin-Healey Sprite, the Spitfire was made to be both affordable and fun to drive. The seat was lowered closer to the road giving the illusion of going faster than a higher seat would provide. Many of the sporty cars of the 1960s were switching to a unibody design to allow for better handling. However, new owners of the Triumph label, Leyland Motors, saved money by reusing the Harold chassis design, allowing them to sell the car at a cheaper price. Giovanni Michelotti was a legendary designer, creating dozens of car models like the Triumph Spitfire for brands like Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, and Maserati. Finally, the Spitfire did indeed get its name from the prolific British fighter plane most renowned for its role in the Battle of Britain during WWII.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's BigTriviaDawg who suggests if your Spitfire is spitting fire it is time to see the mechanic!

Answer: The assembly line

William Morris started his business life with bicycles. From there he moved on to motorcycles and eventually began selling and renting other manufacturers' cars. World War I interrupted his car manufacturing but after the war his business boomed going from 400 cars in 1919 to 56,000 by 1925.

The MG brand came about in the 1920s and there are varying theories on exactly how it came to be. But all theories credit Cecil Kimber as a driving force behind the brand. He joined Morris Garages in 1921 as a sales manager. By 1925, the MG brand was established.

William Morris is credited with introducing Ford's concepts of mass production into the UK, most notably the assembly line. He built or purchased numerous factories over time from 1919 to 1925 and bought out many competitors as well as suppliers of components.

This question was assembled by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.

Answer: False

The original 'Series 1' Land Rover was designed by Maurice Wilks of the Rover car company in collaboration with his brother Spencer, who was the company chairman at that time - 1947, hence after World War II. The 'Land Rover' name was intended to reflect an off-road capability for a Rover car. The prototype design was influenced by the Jeep and was built on a Jeep chassis and axles but it was not a Jeep reproduction. Its original color of various shades of light green was dictated not by design but by the abundance of military surplus aircraft cockpit paint.

The Land Rover was originally intended to be a very utilitarian vehicle but over the years the brand has grown into a luxury 4 x 4 brand. The Range Rover was introduced in 1970 as an upmarket model. The brand has been built in five countries: the United Kingdom, Brazil, Slovakia, India, and China.

This question was driven into the quiz in 4 lock by Phoenix Rising's tazman6619 who has spent many a day in the backcountry of the southwestern US but never in a Land Rover.

Answer: Lotus

Creating the ultimate sports car was not what Chapman was, initially, about. He was an engineer who sold aluminium and tinkered with cars as a hobby. His first venture into motor sport was in 1948 when he converted an Austin 7 into what became his Lotus Mk1. As to why the name Lotus was chosen is a mystery though the most prominent theory is that it was a shortened version of his wife's nickname "Lotus Blossom".

Four years later he founded Lotus Cars, though it still remained a part-time pursuit. Using his engineering skills, he worked towards making a lighter car that provided superior handling, much in line with his famous quote above. Among his innovations were the use of struts as rear suspension devices but the biggest shift was the adoption of the monocoque chassis, a system in which the structured loads of the car are held together by the vehicle's skin, much like an egg. This had the effect of making his cars lighter and stronger. Chapman was one of the pioneers of introducing aero-dynamic designs into Formula 1 vehicle. He was also one of the first makers to turn their racing vehicles into mobile billboards.

Team Lotus would go on to win seven Formula One Constructor's titles, as well as six Driver's Championships in the period between 1962 and 1978. His company continued to make affordable sports cars for the public even during the British industrial decline of the 1970s. Sadly, a heart attack would take Chapman's life in 1982. He was only 54 years old.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who says that the closest he's ever come to owning a Lotus was as part of his Matchbox collection.

Answer: Mini

Greek-born Alexander Issigonis started in the motor vehicle industry as an engineer and car racer in the 1930s. It wasn't long before he found himself working for Morris Motors Limited. He would leave them in 1952 when they merged with Austin and became the British Motor Company (BMC), to work with Alvis Cars. He was enticed back to BMC in 1955 with the task of designing a series of three family vehicles. This was thrown out the window with the introduction of fuel rationing and extreme competition from Germany's "bubble" cars, which also had the decided advantage of being super economical. Alec was immediately tasked to design something that was less than ten feet long and could carry a family of four.

The result was the Mini, launched by BMC in 1959, and it was ingenious. It utilised every possible inch of space. To make it work Alec used ten-inch wheels that he pushed out to the corners of the car. This helped to create the space inside. Compact rubber cones replaced those bulky springs, the gearbox was mounted in the sump and the cylinders were lined up sideways across the car. As brilliant as it was, it didn't catch on... it was way too radical for the conservative British mind-set. That was until celebrities started driving it and the vehicle started to feature prominently on the race-track, in particular, in the hands of John Cooper, who immediately saw its potential.


The BMC Mini became as common on the streets of London in the 1960s as Mary Quant's beloved mini-skirt. In all, some 5.3 million of them were sold before it was replaced. Today it is a cherished collector's item that most judges agree is the mightiest British vehicle ever created. This was backed up by the Global Automotive Elections Foundation, which listed it as the second most influential vehicle, behind the Model T Ford, of the 20th century.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who's never driven a Mini or worn a mini-skirt.

Answer: Aston Martin

The Aston Martin DB5 gained superstar status once it was depicted in the film "Goldfinger" as James Bond's car. Quite possibly one of the most beautiful cars ever made, the DB5 was truly the perfect blend of speed and luxury. A 4.0 L, 282 horse powered engine allowed for the sporty DB5 to reach speeds of 233 kph (145 mph). The car could also go from 0-100 kph (0-60 mph) in a respectable 8 seconds making it fast indeed for a 1960s luxury car. On the inside, leather trim came standard along with luxurious reclining seats and revolutionary electric windows. The cars used in the James Bond films had added upgrades like weapons and the all-important champagne bucket.

Amazingly, Aston Martin produced only about a thousand units of the DB5 model between 1963 and 1965. The extreme popularity from the 1964 film "Goldfinger" resulted in the repeat appearance in six more Bond films and also has significantly driven up the value of these classic cars.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's BigTriviaDawg who wonders if having a champagne bucket under the armrest has ever led to trouble with the highway authorities. I guess it wouldn't matter if you are 007!

Answer: Donald Healey & Herbert Austin

Herbert Austin (1st Baron Austin, 1866-1941) enjoyed building cars in the 1890s which led to the founding of the company bearing his name in 1905. Three years later, the company had 17 different models. The company greatly aided British war efforts which included building aircraft during World War II. After financial difficulties at the end of World War I, the company's fortunes turned around with the release of the "baby Austin" car of 1923, which became extremely popular due to its reliability and affordable price. New models came out in the 1930s.

Austin merged with Morris in 1952 to form the British Motor Corporation. Later that year, the Austin component of BMC joined forces with the eponymous company founded in 1945 by car manufacturer and racing driver Donald Healey (1898-1988). The Austin-Healey collaboration commenced with the 100 model, an open 2-seater, in 1953, followed by the larger 100-6 in 1956 and the popular 3000 in 1959. The 3000 was also used in motor racing, including at Le Mans and Bathurst (Australia). Further roadsters and sports convertibles were released over the next decade. A smaller version, the Sprite, with an 948 cc engine also became popular, although its quirky headlight placement on the bonnet/hood gave it the unflattering nickname of the 'frogeye'! Car manufacturing finished with the termination of the twenty-year Austin-Healey agreement in 1972.

This question was merged into the quiz, with appropriate indicator usage, by Phoenix Rising's MikeMaster99 who was amazed to learn that Herbert Austin's background involved Melbourne and the sheep industry, in particular the sheep-shearing machine developed by Fred Wolseley.

Answer: Swallow Sidecar Company

'Jaguar' started company life as the 'Swallow Sidecar Company', founded by William Walmsley and William Lyons in 1922. As the name suggests, the company manufactured sidecars for motorcycles. Lyons became sole proprietor in 1934 and moved the company into automobile manufacturing. The first model released by S.S. cars in 1935 was a 2.5-litre saloon with the model name of 'Jaguar'. A more powerful 3.5-litre version was released soon afterwards. The cars proved to be very popular with motoring enthusiasts. During the annual general meeting of the company at the end of World War II (1945), the shareholders voted to change the company name to be more evocative and hence 'Jaguar' became the company name. Jaguar produced a number of classic sports cars including the E-type from 1961 and the XJ6 from 1969. Jaguar was also involved with motor racing with the 1950s being the halcyon decade with 5 wins at Le Mans (1951 & 1953 with the C-type then 1955-57 with the D-type). Jaguar has also competed in Formula One (with Ford) and in Touring Car championships.

The company has undergone a series of ownership changes and mergers including with Ford, Land Rover and British Leyland.

This question was driven into, then parked, in this quiz by Phoenix Rising's MikeMaster99, who hopes you did not select Maurice Leyland - despite his car-sounding name, Mr Leyland played 41 cricket test matches for England.

Answer: McLaren F1

The McLaren F1 was the brainchild of Gordon Murray, the technical director of McLaren's F1 racing team from 1987 to 1991 - a period during which they won four F1 drivers' championship titles, four constructors' titles and 42 F1 grands prix. The car was the result of Murray's desire to build a high-performance road car based on the technological developments being introduced to racing cars, such as the carbon fibre monocoque chassis. Along with chief designer Peter Stevens, he also implemented an unusual three-seater approach for the McLaren F1, with a central driving position flanked by two rear passenger seats to give the driver greater visibility more akin to a single-seat racing car.

The McLaren F1 was officially launched in Monaco in May 1992 and the first production version was delivered to its owner in December 1993. As each car was individually manufactured and took over three months to produce, only 63 more road versions followed the first one out of the factory before production ceased in 1998. In total, just over 100 McLaren F1s were made, including test versions and the 28 F1 GTR racing versions built to take part in various touring car championships and the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans.

It remained McLaren's only foray into road car manufacturing for over a decade until the formation of the McLaren Automotive group and the launch of the McLaren 12C (or MP4-12C) in 2011.

This question screeched into place, driven by Phoenix Rising's Fifiona81.