The Austrian Connection
It seems inconceivable today to base an entire industry on the engines supplied by one maker, but just such a situation was the way Britain’s lightweight competition market existed from the early post Second World War period until Norton Villiers decided they would keep all their engines for themselves. In a very short time, as stocks of engines were used up, lots of manufacturers were faced with either closing, making their own engines or sourcing elsewhere.
Greeves for instance, had already instigated their own engine for MX but development isn’t an easy or cheap thing to do, so also cast about looking for alternative supply. Villiers hadn’t been the only engine maker involved in the supply of units to the UK’s industry, it had ‘just’ been the major one so other suppliers
