1924 Bean 12hp Tourer
Seen driving past a variety of aircraft at the Shuttleworth Collection's 2015 Wings and Wheels Show, OR 6033 is a rare operating example of the Bean 12 hp Tourer.
In the months after World War I, a new manufacturing giant entered the British motor industry with modern plant and machinery for mass production. A Harper and Bean Ltd. of Tipton, Dudley in the West Midlands, had bought the jigs, tools and patterns of the Perry light car, which had been announced only four years earlier in 1914. The new company decided to mildly update the Perry car, rename it the Bean, and meet the challenge of the Model T Ford.
Bean's invested heavily to ensure that the Tipton factory would have the most up-to-date machine tools possible, and be the most modern in the British motor industry, capable of meeting the trans-Atlantic challenge. By 1921, however, through top-heavy financing and an outdated product, sales had fallen below expectations. A Harper & Bean went into receivership, and production ceased.
However, in 1922 Bean was back in production and work began on a completely new car, the Bean 14hp, with a smaller, scaled-down version, the Bean 12hp (above), designed to challenge the Morris Cowley, which was leading sales.
Despite being £83 more expensive, and heavier than the all-powerful Morris, the Bean 12hp was a cost-conscious exercise. The four-seater touring body was distinguished by its uniform curved front and rear doors, which were intended to achieve efficient quantity production by the rationalisation of parts, speeding up the manufacturing process. But the cost-cutting went too far.
The sales and production targets of 50,000 cars a year remained just a dream and Bean Cars never gained a serious foothold in the market dominated by Austin and Morris. In 1926, Hadfield Steels took over Bean and production of cars eventually ceased in 1929, although commercial vehicles continued until 1931.
Despite its rather sad development, the Bean is nevertheless a classic of British motoring history. The car is essentially original, with the exception of the upholstery and the hood, which were replaced some time ago.
1924 Bean 12hp Tourer
Seen driving past a variety of aircraft at the Shuttleworth Collection's 2015 Wings and Wheels Show, OR 6033 is a rare operating example of the Bean 12 hp Tourer.
In the months after World War I, a new manufacturing giant entered the British motor industry with modern plant and machinery for mass production. A Harper and Bean Ltd. of Tipton, Dudley in the West Midlands, had bought the jigs, tools and patterns of the Perry light car, which had been announced only four years earlier in 1914. The new company decided to mildly update the Perry car, rename it the Bean, and meet the challenge of the Model T Ford.
Bean's invested heavily to ensure that the Tipton factory would have the most up-to-date machine tools possible, and be the most modern in the British motor industry, capable of meeting the trans-Atlantic challenge. By 1921, however, through top-heavy financing and an outdated product, sales had fallen below expectations. A Harper & Bean went into receivership, and production ceased.
However, in 1922 Bean was back in production and work began on a completely new car, the Bean 14hp, with a smaller, scaled-down version, the Bean 12hp (above), designed to challenge the Morris Cowley, which was leading sales.
Despite being £83 more expensive, and heavier than the all-powerful Morris, the Bean 12hp was a cost-conscious exercise. The four-seater touring body was distinguished by its uniform curved front and rear doors, which were intended to achieve efficient quantity production by the rationalisation of parts, speeding up the manufacturing process. But the cost-cutting went too far.
The sales and production targets of 50,000 cars a year remained just a dream and Bean Cars never gained a serious foothold in the market dominated by Austin and Morris. In 1926, Hadfield Steels took over Bean and production of cars eventually ceased in 1929, although commercial vehicles continued until 1931.
Despite its rather sad development, the Bean is nevertheless a classic of British motoring history. The car is essentially original, with the exception of the upholstery and the hood, which were replaced some time ago.