Lea-Francis

Lea & Francis Ltd Company  was founded by Richard Henry Lea and Graham Ingoldsby Francis in 1895, in Coventry, United Kingdom. As with most of the first car makers, Lea-Francis also started as a bicycles manufacturer, the first car being produced in 1904. In 1925 Lea-Francis incorporated sports cars in their range of cars. Three years later a Lea-Francis Hyper came first in the Ulster TT Sports Car Race driven by the legendary Kaye Don.In 1937 the company was sold to Hugh Rose and George Leek who formed the Lea-Francis Engineering Ltd. Due to the WWII production was interrupted between 1939 and 1946. Despite being luxurious, expensive cars, Lea-Francis became were very popular but the Company started having financial problems and closed its doors in 1963. There are plans to revive the make.