A car brand that is largely forgotten today. A bit sad as Wolseley had a history going all the way back to 1895 when the first car was shown to the public.
Shared fate with Riley
The first cars went on sale around 1900 and the model selection increased rapidly. Around 1915, Wolseley was one of the largest car factories in England. Around 1920, the factory launched new models with very advanced engines with overhead camshafts. But it did little to help sales and the factory went bankrupt in 1926. The estate was bought by Morris who liked the products from Wolseley. New models came on the market and the model selection became large. In order to get production better organized, Wolseley was sold to Austin in 1935. The production of passenger cars after the war started as early as 1945 as one of the first factories in England. In 1952 BMC was established and Wolseley became part of this group. This meant that the smaller manufacturers in groups such as Wolseley and Riley were allowed to develop their own variants based on existing models from Austin and Morris. Both Riley and Wolseley were successful with their own models based technically on the Morris Minor.
Mini in luxury format
BMC launched their new mini as both Austin and Morris in 1959. It was a success and it was decided that both Wolseley and Riley should follow up with their own variants of this model. The model from Wolseley was adapted to the brand's profile by giving it more equipment and by changing its appearance. The car was made longer than the Morris Mini by giving it an extended boot. Now it resembled a traditional passenger car. Inside, it also received more equipment to emphasize that it was a luxury version of the Austin/Morris. Technically, it followed the development of the "mini concept" with a larger engine and better suspension. This small special model was produced in the period 1961 to 1969. In total, production ended at approx. 29 copies of this model from Wolseley.
Wolseley Hornet data at introduction
Length: 327 cm
Width: 135 cm
Height: 141 cm
Top speed: 114 km/h
Engine: 848 ccm, 34 hp
See
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Anders de Lange
Anders de Lange writes about car history. He has written about cars and car history for over 30 years, published his own books and written for the Norwegian car press.