Trojan (automobile)

Trojan was a British automobile manufacturer producing light cars between 1914 and 1965, and light commercial vehicles for a short time.

Early history

The company was founded by Leslie Hayward Hounsfield (1877–1957) who went into business as a general engineer in a small workshop called the Polygon Engineering Works in Clapham, South London. He got the idea to make a simple, economical car that would be easy to drive and started design work in 1910.

In 1913 the prototype was ready. It had a two-stroke engine with four cylinders arranged in pairs, and each pair shared a common combustion chamber - a doubled-up version of what would later be called the "split-single" engine. The pistons in each pair drove the crankshaft together as they were coupled to it by a V-shaped connecting rod. For this arrangement to work, it is necessary for the connecting rod to flex slightly, which goes completely against normal practice. The claim was that each engine had only seven moving parts, four pistons, two connecting rods and a crankshaft. This was connected to a two-speed epicyclic gearbox, to simplify gear changing, and a chain to the rear wheels. Solid tyres were used, even though these were antiquated for car use, to prevent punctures and very long springs used to give some comfort.

Car

A car is a wheeled, self-powered motor vehicle used for transportation and a product of the automotive industry. Most definitions of the term specify that cars are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels with tyres, and to be constructed principally for the transport of people rather than goods. The year 1886 is regarded as the birth year of the modern car. In that year, German inventor Karl Benz built the Benz Patent-Motorwagen. Cars did not become widely available until the early 20th century. One of the first cars that was accessible to the masses was the 1908 Model T, an American car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. Cars were rapidly adopted in the United States of America, where they replaced animal-drawn carriages and carts, but took much longer to be accepted in Western Europe and other parts of the world.

Cars are equipped with controls used for driving, parking, passenger comfort and safety, and controlling a variety of lights. Over the decades, additional features and controls have been added to vehicles, making them progressively more complex. Examples include rear reversing cameras, air conditioning, navigation systems, and in car entertainment. Most cars in use in the 2010s are propelled by an internal combustion engine, fueled by deflagration of gasoline (also known as petrol) or diesel. Both fuels cause air pollution and are also blamed for contributing to climate change and global warming. Vehicles using alternative fuels such as ethanol flexible-fuel vehicles and natural gas vehicles are also gaining popularity in some countries. Electric cars, which were invented early in the history of the car, began to become commercially available in 2008.

Automobile (disambiguation)

An automobile or car is a kind of wheeled motor vehicle. Automobile may also refer to:

Trojan

Trojan or Trojans may refer to:

Computing

Music

Transport

Other

Trojan (video game)

Trojan (闘いの挽歌, Tatakai no Banka, literally "Requiem for Battle") is a side-scrolling action game produced by Capcom originally released as a coin operated video game in 1986. The arcade version was distributed in North America by Romstar and is included in Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

Home versions for DOS and the Nintendo Entertainment System were released during the same year. A ZX Spectrum version was programmed by Clive Townsend for Elite Systems in 1987 for their Durell publishing line of games, but was never released; a ROM has since been leaked from a collection of Townsend's ZX Microdrive disk files.

Plot

Set in a post-apocalyptic future during the aftermath of a nuclear war, the player takes control of a warrior who is hired to defeat the gang of an evil dictator. The hero is armed with a sword and shield, but has also been trained in the martial arts.

Gameplay

Trojan–Tauranac Racing

Trojan was an automobile manufacturer and a Formula One constructor, in conjunction with Australian Ron Tauranac, from the United Kingdom.

The car producer Trojan Limited was founded by Leslie Hounsfield in 1914 in Purley Way, Croydon, Surrey, (South London) and produced cars and especially delivery vans until 1964.

Around 1960, the Trojan business was sold to Peter Agg who imported Lambretta scooters for the British market. In 1962, the rights to manufacture the Heinkel microcar were acquired and the production line was moved from Dundalk, Ireland to Croydon, Surrey. Production then commenced, renaming the bubble car as Trojan Cabin Cruiser. Production continued until 1965, when some 6,000 cars had been produced. Speaking to Motor Cycle in 1965 after cessation of production, Peter Agg confirmed that a 1962 British government reduction in purchase tax from 50% to 25% aligning car taxation with three-wheelers and motorbikes, had given a big boost to the cheaper end of the car market, adversely affecting sales of the economy-sector three-wheeler, making continued production uneconomical.