Clyno – The Forgotten British Car Maker

Clyno Engineering, originally based in Wolverhampton, engineered and manufactured both cars and motorcycles during the early part of the last century and was, at the time, the third largest UK vehicle producer after Austin and Morris. And yet today, the make is relatively unknown. Studio434/1 has arguably the largest collection of Clyno cars and motorcycles in the UK celebrating the engineering quality of these unique and superbly engineered vehicles.

Clyno - The British car that time forgot

The earliest Clyno vehicles in the Studio434 collection are two of the company’s original motorcycles. Both are fine examples produced in 1921, both 269cc bikes are representative of the 15,000 motorcycles produced by the company. The heyday for Clyno motorcycle production was the First World War period when the company produced a motorcycle combination with a machine gun attachment, manufactured for the Motor Cycle Gun Service, which is said to have been a decision taken by Winston Churchill.

Clyno launched its first car at the 1922 Motor Show held at Olympia in London. It had a 3-speed gearbox and sold for £250. Studio434 has been able to acquire five Clyno cars, an 11hp Coupe built in1924, a very rare 1926 10.8 hp Clyno Van, together with three other models, a 1927 10.8 hp Convertible, a 1929 Estate and a 1927 2-seater Tourer.

Clyno - The British car that time forgot 2

Rodger Dudding, the owner of Studio434, is passionate about maintaining the history of the British motor industry and his collection of Clyno vehicles, along with some 320 or more cars and motorcycles from the early 1900’s to the present day, reflects his commitment to showcasing all that is best in motoring. Arguably, Rodger has put together the most comprehensive private car, motorcycle and memorabilia collection in the UK and many of his cars are used extensively in film and TV as well as for weddings and other special events.

Note: Press release courtesy of Studio434.

Staff