Thread: Happy sixtieth, Disc brakes

The "Tucker" was the first production car with Disc Brakes in 1948, disc brakes were widely used on aircraft as well so disc brakes were well known back then, Regards Frank.

Originally Posted by Tank

The "Tucker" was the first production car with Disc Brakes in 1948, disc brakes were widely used on aircraft as well so disc brakes were well known back then, Regards Frank.

Nothing new under the sun... Actually it was a Lanchester car that appears to have been the first production car with disc brakes - all the way back in 1902!

... Lanchester Engine Company Ltd and registered in 1899.

Work on the first Lanchester car had been started in 1895, significantly designed from first principles as a car, not a horseless carriage, and it ran on the public roads in February or March 1896. It had a single cylinder 1306 cc engine with the piston having two connecting rods to separate crankshafts and flywheels rotating in opposite directions giving very smooth running. A two cylinder engine was fitted to the same chassis in 1897 and a second complete car was built alongside it. This led on to the first production cars in 1900 when six were made as demonstrators. These had two cylinder, 4033 cc, horizontal air cooled engines, retaining the twin crankshaft design. Steering was by side lever not wheel. The gearbox used epicyclic gearing. The first cars were sold to the public in 1901. In 1902 Lanchester became the first company to market disc brakes to the public. They were mechanical and on the front wheels only. The discs were very thin and made of a very soft metal like brass. Although probably leaving much to be desired, they completely fit the definition of a disc brake, and beat all others to market by many years. All bodies were made by external coachbuilders until 1903 when a body department was set up and up to 1914 most cars carried Lanchester built bodies. In 1904, despite a full order book, the company ran out of money and receivers were called in. The company was re-organised and registered as the Lanchester Motor Company later that year.

So it is actually the 110th anniversary of the disc brake being fitted to a production vehicle.

There seem to have been a number of claims to first disc brakes - Chrysler had them as standard on the Crown Imperial from 1949, and they had been used on some aircraft since the 1930s.

But the first normal car to be fitted with caliper disc brakes that would look familiar to us today would seem to be the Crossley Hotshot in 1950.

The first production car fitted with caliper disc brakes by an existing brake manufacturer was the Jaguar type C in 1953 (the 1952 date was apparently a prototype). Worth noting that the first two brake manufacturers to make caliper discs for cars were both UK companies - Dunlop and Girling. Bendix was not fitting them to US cars until 1963. First German one was MB with Girling brakes in 1961.

But the first family car to have caliper disc brakes was the Citroen DS - in 1955. What is more, they were inboard at the front, dual circuit and power not power assist, with zero pedal movement, and front/rear braking proportioned according to the weight distribution front to back.

John