Iris was a British car brand that was manufactured from 1906 to 1925 by Legros & Knowles Ltd in Willesden, London and Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.
The Iris Motor Co, was established at Holland St, Brixton, London, in 1902. It made motorcycles until 1904 and later the Iris car.[1]
Lucien Alphonse Legros (1866-1933), O.B.E., M.I.Mech.E., M.I.C.E.,[2] son of the artist Alphonse Legros, and Guy Knowles, scion of a wealthy and artistic family, founded Legros & Knowles Ltd in Cumberland Park, Willesden Junction, Willesden, London in 1904 to build and repair vehicles. They had met while Knowles was studying art under Alphonze Legros. Knowles provided most of the financial capital while Legros, an older, experienced tramway engineer, was the main designer.[3] [4]
Two Legros & Knowles vehicles were shown at the 1904 Olympia Show, but they were cumbersome, outdated designs with chain drive, slow revving engines and magneto ignition. They were subsequently referred to as the 'Old Buggerinas'.[3]
From 1904, Legros & Knowles manufactured Iris cars.
In November 1905, a new Iris model appeared with shaft drive and the diamond shaped radiator. It was designed by Ivon M. de Havilland, elder brother of Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, who had been at Harrow school with Knowles ten years earlier. (Note - de Havilland died approximately a year later.) Also in 1905, some marine units were built, based on the original Legros engine design, one of which was installed in the motor yacht Iris at the Southampton trials.[3]
By 1907, Frank T. Burgess was involved with the design at Iris. He later designed both the 1914 T.T. Humber and the 3 litre Bentley for W. O. Bentley.[3]
In 1907, Iris Cars Ltd was founded as a distribution company for the production models. It collapsed in 1908 (or 1909).
The factory in Willesden was quite small, comprising a machine shop, engine room which drove all the machinery, the erecting shop with space for four chassis, and the blacksmith's shop. Upstairs, there was a light machine shop, fitting shop, parts store and pattern maker's shop. A separate building contained the office, the drawing office, and engine test-shop. There was no foundry. The total workforce was less than 60.[3]
In 1908/9, Iris Cars Ltd opened showrooms in Marshall Street, off Oxford Street, London, which took over the marketing of all the production from Willesden.
In 1909, Legros and Knowles created a new Service department for Iris Cars Ltd, headquartered in Aylesbury and headed by George Augustus Mower. It was associated with Mower's Bifurcated Rivet and Tubular Rivet Company, on the Mandeville Road, Aylesbury.[3]
C.K. Edwards was the Iris designer until 1911. In 1913, construction ceased in Willesden.
Production in Aylesbury stopped in 1915 with the outbreak of the First World War.
In 1919, the last vehicle was created but three models were offered until 1925. There is only a single known surviving vehicle, a British owned 1912 tourer registration FR 611 (pictured above).[5] [6]
In 1909, Sir Geoffrey de Havilland contracted Iris to build his first aero engine, the de Havilland Iris, a four-cylinder, liquid-cooled, horizontally opposed unit, which was displayed at the Aero Show in Olympia in March 2010.[3]
The car was named after the Greek goddess Iris, The Speedy Messenger of the Gods, who was portrayed on the badge of the early cars. By 1907, the advertising slogan was It Runs in Silence and this was implied as the origin of the name.[5] From 1909, the logo, designed by Clive Harrington, showed green and blue Iris flowers.
The only Legros & Knowles model had a four-cylinder engine with 20 hp power.
The Iris cars were luxury vehicles with large, water-cooled four-cylinder in-line engines. Between 1906 and 1908, a six-cylinder 40 HP was available, but it is probable that only one unit was built. A striking feature of all models was the diamond shaped radiator grille.[6]
| Model | Construction | Cylinders | Capacity | Wheelbase | |
| 25/30 HP | 1906–1915 | Straight 4 | 4874 cm³ | 3048 mm | |
| 35/40 HP | 1906–1915 | Straight 4 | 6735 cm³ | 3048–3353 mm | |
| 40 HP | 1906–1908 | Straight 6 | 7311 cm³ | 3353 mm | |
| New 25 HP | 1909–1925 | Straight 4 | 4874 cm³ | 3124 mm | |
| New 35 HP | 1909 | Straight 4 | 6735 cm³ | 3048–3353 mm | |
| 15 HP | 1910–1925 | Straight 4 | 2292 cm³ | 2845 mm | |
| 15.9 HP | 1914 | Straight 4 | 2610 cm³ | 2845 mm | |
| 25 HP | 1914–1925 | Straight 4 | 4874 cm³ | 3200 mm |