The term light car is used in Great Britain since the early part of the 20th century for an automobile less than 1.5 litres engine capacity. In modern car classification this term would be roughly equivalent to a subcompact car. There are numerous light car clubs in Britain and Australia.
The current driving licence category B1 ("Light vehicles and quad bikes") in Great Britain covers motor vehicles with four wheels up to 400 kg unladen, or 550 kg if designed for carrying goods.[1] This category does not exist in Northern Ireland; a full car licence is required for light cars and quad bikes there.[2]
The term light car was used in the 1910s and 1920s in the United States to describe a cyclecar that had been improved with conventional automobile components, but was not a classification.
A paragraph in the Autocar Handbook, sixth edition (1914) states:
It goes on to state:
A specification for the light car was promulgated in 1912 by the ACU, by which engine capacity was limited to 15001NaN1. Also in 1912, cars in Europe with engines smaller than 11000NaN0 were classified for motor sport purposes as cyclecars.[3]
In October 1913 the British Temple Press, the publisher of various vehicle magazines, launched a magazine called The Light Car and Cyclecar,[4] later shortened to The Light Car. It was on sale every Friday and cost 3d, but it ceased publication many years ago. This magazine covered topics on the range of cars used by the 'average motorist'.