In 1894 Walter Arnold, the owner of Walter Arnold & co., decided to import from Germany a Benz engine. Although the British Government of the day was actively discouraging the horseless carriages as the new-fangled motor cars were called, Arnold believed that they would become the transport of the future. He therefore decided to design and build a British motor car albeit with a German engine, with the agreement of Benz. Two years later, the first car was completed and sold to an enthusiastic buyer.

In the same year the Government passed an Act of Parliament liberalizing the operation of motor cars on public roads they no longer had to be preceded by a man walking in front with a red flag! In celebration car owners organized a trip from London to Brighton, known as the Emancipation Run. This original Arnold-Benz, nicknamed Adam, took part and completed the journey with only a few minor breakdowns on the way. About a dozen of the cars were built before production ceased on 1898.

The London to Brighton trip later became an annual event to commemorate the emancipation of the motor car, and the Arnold-Benz participated for many years until it was placed into well-earned retirement in a motor museum.

The design and construction of the car was influenced by the traditional horse-drawn carriage of the times with the driver and passenger sitting on a bench seat above the rear-mounted engine. A wooden chassis frame strengthened by steel flitch plates was the basis of the vehicle and the solid front and rear axles were mounted on leaf springs. The spoked wheels with solid tires were mounted on plain bearings that had to be greased every day.

The engine had a capacity of 1190cc. A single cylinder of bore 123.8mm and a stroke of 111.1mm. with an automatic, gravity operated inlet valve and a side exhaust valve. The maximum output power was 1.5bhp at 650 RPM. Fuel/air mixture was fed to the engine by a gravity-fed surface carburetor. The engine bearings were wick lubricated with castor oil. Transmission of power to the rear axle was achieved by a slipping belt drive to a counter shaft which in turn was connected to the rear axle by a chain and sprocket speed-reducing system giving a maximum speed on the road of 16mph and a consumption of about 30mpg. The front wheel steering was carried out by a simple tiller system.The engine had to be started by turning the large flywheel by hand.

Thus began the great British tradition of building quality cars for the motoring public.

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