Humber Limited was a British manufacturer of bicycles, motorcycles, and cars, incorporated and listed on the stock exchange in 1887. It took the name "Humber & Co Limited" because of the high reputation of the products of one of the constituent businesses that had belonged to Thomas Humber. A financial reconstruction in 1899 transferred its business to Humber Limited.

From an interest in motor vehicles beginning in 1896, the motor division became much more important than the cycle division and the cycle trade marks were sold to Raleigh in 1932. The motorcycles were withdrawn from sale during the depression of the 1930s.

Humber is now a dormant marque for automobiles as well as cycles. Following their involvement in Humber through Hillman in 1928 the Rootes brothers acquired 60 per cent of Humber's ordinary capital, sufficient for a controlling interest. The two Rootes brothers joined the Humber board in 1932 and began to make Humber the holding company for vehicle manufacturing members of what became their Rootes Group.

By 1960 annual production was around 200,000 vehicles. Previous insistence on Rootes family control, however, may have led to under-capitalisation of the business. Building a brand new car, the Hillman Imp, proved beyond Humber and Rootes Group resources and their businesses were bought by the Chrysler Corporation in 1967.

In 1896 Humber built a prototype and nine production motorcars in their new Coventry premises. In November 1896 a car was exhibited at the Stanley Cycle Show in London. They are claimed to be the first series production cars made in England.

At Humber & Company's next general meeting in 1897 the managing director said they had received many letters asking if they would produce a motorised vehicle, and that they had in fact been working on this project for two years, but had delayed production until they found a suitably reliable engine. Having now found an engine they were gearing up for production.

The first Humber car was produced in 1898 and was a three-wheeled tricar of the 'sociable' type powered by a single cylinder Turrell engine. Their first conventional four-wheeled car appeared in 1901. Cars went into production in Beeston near Nottingham as well as Stoke, Coventry but to separate designs. Just as with bicycles Beeston Humber products retained their high quality image. The Beeston works closed in 1908 on the opening of the new works at Stoke. Humber's profit went from £16.500 in 1905 to £106.500 the next year and £154.400 in 1907.

On 12 March 1908 the new works was officially opened at Stoke, then just outside the city of Coventry. New buildings covered 13.5 acres and allowed for the employment of 5,000 hands. The new works was designed to be capable of producing 150 cars and 1,500 cycles per week. Another financial reconstruction was made in 1909. In 1911 they took over the Centaur Cycle Company.

By this time a wide range of cars was produced from the 998cc Humberette to several six-cylinder 6-litre models. In 1913 Humber was second only to Wolseley as the largest manufacturer of cars in the United Kingdom. Revived by the war Humber produced motorcycles and bicycles for the War Office as well as cars.

12/25

1924-1927

The Humber 12/25 was a British automobile produced by Humber Limited and introduced in 1924. These rear wheel drive cars were available as tourers (4-door convertible), closed sedans and 2-door coupes. The 12/25 had a 1.8L inline four engine and a 4-speed manual transmission. Power output around 24–25 bhp, which matched the “25” part of the name (12 taxable horsepower, 25 actual brake horsepower). Top speed was about 80–88 km/h.

Like most Humbers of the period, it leaned toward comfort and dignity rather than performance.

It was known for its reliability and robustness, making it popular with middle-class buyers of the time. The Humber 12/25 was produced up to 1927.

16/50

1924-1929

Introduced in 1929, the Humber 16/50 was the replacement for the ageing 14/40 model. The new 16/50 boasted a smooth 6 cylinder, 7 bearing engine engine, with the well established IOE engine layout that Humber had used since 1922. Output was around 50 bhp (hence the “16/50” name – 16 taxable horsepower, 50 brake horsepower).

New features included coil ignition, mechanical fuel pump and Bendix brakes. Fixtures and fittings were of the high quality expected from this manufacturer and the 16/50 appealed to the discerning professional and middle class motorist of the period.

The 16/50 was supplied as tourers, limousines, and saloons but many were coachbuilt by firms such as Thrupp & Maberly, so appearances varied quite a bit.

16/60

It was produced during the 1930s (introduced around 1929 and ran until about 1935).  It was an upper-middle class / executive car, aimed at professionals and wealthy families, competing with cars like the Rover 14/16 and Armstrong Siddeley models.

The car had a six-cylinder, 2110cc engine (around 60 bhp, hence the “16/60” designation: 16 taxable horsepower under the UK rating system, 60 actual brake horsepower) and side-valve layout, with smooth but not particularly fast performance. Top speed was about 105 km/h, which was respectable for its time.

By the mid-1930s it was replaced by newer Humber models, as the company updated its range. Surviving examples today are quite rare and usually found in vintage car rallies or private collections.

vogue pilarless

The Vogue was modest in size, with a sturdy little four-cylinder engine that produced up to 80 bhp and carried a family briskly along the growing network of British roads.

The absence of a central pillar gave it a sleek, American-influenced look, especially with all windows down. Trimmed with wood veneer and chrome, it was marketed as the stylish, aspirational Humber of the 1960s.

With its B-pillars gone, the car took on a sleek, almost glamorous look. When the windows were wound down, the sides opened up in a way that gave passengers a taste of the open road without leaving the comfort of a closed car. It was the Humber of the new era: wood veneer still on the dash, but chrome gleaming outside and a touch of panache in its lines.

The Vogue didn’t roar like a Jaguar or loom like a Bentley, but it gave the middle-class a car that felt fashionable, international, and just a little daring. For Humber, it was both a continuation of its tradition of quality and an attempt to reinvent itself for a more style-conscious world.

super snipe

1938-1940

The Humber Super Snipe is a car which was produced from 1938 to 1967 by British-based manufacturer Humber Limited.

The Super Snipe was introduced in October 1938, derived by combining the four-litre inline six-cylinder engine from the larger Humber Pullman with the chassis and body of the Humber Snipe, normally powered by a three-litre engine. The result was a car of enhanced performance and a top speed of 127 km/h —fast for its day. Its design was contributed to by American engine genius Delmar "Barney" Roos who left a successful career at Studebaker to join Rootes in 1936.

The Super Snipe was marketed to upper-middle-class managers, professional people and government officials. It was relatively low-priced for its large size and performance, and was similar to American cars in appearance and concept, and in providing value for money.

In 1946, post-war civilian production resumed and the Super Snipe evolved through several versions, each designated by a Mark number, each generally larger, more powerful, and more modern, until production ended in 1957 with the Mark IVB version.

hawk

The Humber Hawk is a four-cylinder automobile manufactured by British-based maunufacturer Humber Limited from 1945 to 1967.

Series I to IVA

1957-1967

A new Hawk announced in May 1957 had a completely new body with unitary construction which it would go on to share with the 1958 Humber Super Snipe. The new model was, like its predecessors, a large car. For the first time an estate variant was available from the factory - the Hawk estate had the largest unitary bodyshell of any British-built car up to that point, a status it retained until the Jaguar Mark X was launched in 1961. The 2267 cc engine was carried over, though with modifications to the distributor mounting, and other details; and an automatic transmission, the Borg Warner D.G. model, was now available. The body was styled in Rootes' own studios and featured more glass than previous models, with wrap-around front windscreen, which gave it a considerable resemblance to a base model 1955 Chevrolet 4-door sedan.

sceptre

The Humber Sceptre is an automobile which was produced in the United Kingdom from 1963 to 1976 by Humber.

now what....

The unused company name of Humber, continued to be still maintained and registered by the new owner Peugeot. A different company, the Humber Motor Company Limited, was therefore incorporated and registered as a means of pursuing this manufacturing proposal.

Humber Motor Company Limited Limited was registered as a Scottish company in August 1986 then dissolved July 2007; 'Humber Motor Company Limited' was registered in England in June 2007.

Four of Humber Motor Company Limited's registered trademarks (Sceptre, Hawk, Super Snipe, Snipe) were renewed with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). The Humber name and logo are also registered trademarks

There is a continuing interest in Humber and the vehicles that it produced. There are very active web-pages frequented by the fans of, and owners of, Humber vehicles