Atalanta Motors
The Atalanta car was manufactured from 1937 until 1939 by Atalanta Motors Ltd in Staines, Middlesex.
Two models were made.
The 1937 car used Albert Gough's somewhat erratic 4 cylinder overhead cam 1,496 cc 78 bhp and 1,996 cc 98 bhp engines with three valves and two spark plugs per cylinder which had been previously fitted to some Frazer-Nash models where Gough had worked. An Arnott supercharged version was also available. Three or four speed gearboxes were offered. The car had a tubular steel chassis and all round independent suspension using coil springs. Two seat open sports and two seat drop-head coupé bodies built by Abbott were available.
Note: A contributor writes: 'The Atalanta did not have a tubular chassis. It had a cross braced HT Steel chassis of conventional form. Much of the running gear, suspension arms, brake drums and back plates were made from aircraft alloys. The 2 litre supercharged I owned had a Cotal electromagnetic gearbox. All independent suspension by trailing links with vertical coiled springs front and horizontal coil springs rear.'
From 1938 the car could be had with a 4·3 litre V-12 Lincoln Zephyr engine giving 112 bhp which proved to be the more popular. The car had a 3 speed gearbox. A four seat version on a slightly longer chassis was made as well as the two seaters.
The cars were very expensive and the outbreak of war stopped production after only about 20 cars were made. The company continued in existence making pumps and becoming Atalanta Engineering.
See RGS Atalanta
There was another unconnected Atalanta company based in Greenwich, London which built a few 9 hp four cylinder cars from 1916 to 1917.
Atalanta was a name also used on a car made by the rather mysterious Owen of London, England in about 1910. This company existed between 1899 and 1935 but seems to have made very few if any cars.
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Wikipedia