Last updated on December 6, 2022
Peter is a “photographic observer” who is living in Australia. Peter contributes in a series I call Bits and Pieces from Peter in Australia. Peter spotted this Lea-Francis Sports as it sputtered to a stop just outside their gallery. They suspected vapour lock. The driver was waiting for things to cool down and Peter took some photographs. Peter hit a home run with this rare British sports car.
Today’s car is a 1950 Lea-Francis 2.5 Sports right hand drive. It is powered by a 108 hp, 152 cu in (2.5L), in-line 4 cylinder with the dual camshafts located in the block with 2-1bbl SU carburetors. It is mated to a 4-speed manual transmission with a 3.60:1 rear axle. Helping stop this beauty are hydraulic 4-wheel drum brakes. The independent front suspension with the use of torsion bars and the solid rear axle suspension uses semi-elliptic leaf springs. The electrics look to be updated to 12 volts.
The Lea-Francis 2.5 Sports were built from 1947-1953 with a total of an estimated 85 Sports built with approximately 40 are still known to exist. The published top speed was 90 mph with a few owners claiming a righteous 100 mph and a 0 to 60 time of 12.9 seconds.
Richard Henry Lea and Graham Inglesby Francis began manufacturing bicycles in Coventry in 1895. They manufactured their first 4-wheel vehicle in 1903 and its their first motorcycle in 1912. Their last Lea – Francis vehicle was sold in 1954.
Thanks Peter for sharing this beautiful rare post war automobile. A great looking post war car with some great history. Thanks for riding along. Frank
