Name game
To forestall any snide comments, I’ll admit straightaway that my James Superlux autocycle is neither particularly super, nor in the least luxurious. It’s just a typical example of a breed which flowered for a couple of decades after the mid-1930s, and then disappeared almost without trace.
The reasons for its rise and fall are inextricably tied up with national and personal economics; with its genesis in the austerity following the Great Depression, while its predictable end was brought about by increased postwar wealth enabling people to opt for more sophisticated two-wheelers or cars.
It all started with the 1931 Budget which reduced two-wheelers’ road tax to 15 shillings (75 pence) if their capacity was under 150cc. Villiers immediately responded with the 98cc Midget engine, but it was a fairly dated
