Crossley T5

Brothers William and Frank Crossley set up Crossley Motors Ltd in Manchester in 1910 to solely manufacture motor cars as an offshoot of the long-established family engineering company Crossley Brothers Ltd. Previously – since 1904 – nascent automobile making had taken place alongside the bread-and-butter manufacture of cotton mill machinery and industrial stationary gas engines.

Designed by former Daimler engineer JS Critchley, the earliest Crossleys were chain-driven, four-cylinder, 22hp (4.7-litre) vehicles aimed at the same market as Mercedes and Rolls Royce. A 40hp (6.9-litre) model followed, and in one of these big cars the company’s London agent, and very successful part-time gentleman racing driver Charles Jarrott set a record for the London-Monte Carlo run. 

In 1909 designers AW Reeves and GH Woods joined the company to engineer a new range of Crossleys. The 12/14 of 2388cc (monobloc engine, instead of two separate castings) with shaft drive and, optional but not too successful, four-wheel brakes was replaced in 1910 by the 12/15 of 2613cc, otherwise known as the ‘15hp’, and a 4116cc, model, the 20/25 was added to the range.

The big-engine Crossley was the company’s most successful car, particularly in use as the 20/35 with the Royal Flying Corps throughout World War 1. The company continued to produce cars until 1935 and thereafter concentrated on commercial vehicles and buses until merging with AEC in 1948. Production finally ceased in 1956.

About this vehicle

The model T5 displayed here is to all intents a 20-25hp type with a smaller engine. The car was purchased by the Collection in 1956 from a Mr Pyddoke of Sevenoaks in Kent and remains in its original and magnificent condition.

Specification