Squire
1½ Litre

Why it matters

The Squire was an ambitious small British sports car of the mid-1930s, built around a supercharged twin-overhead-camshaft 1½-litre Anzani engine. High prices and slow sales doomed the company, and only seven cars were made, six of which survive.

How rare is it?

Six separate kinds of rarity – never combined into one number.

Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.

Production

Every figure says what it counts.

Independent counts (e.g. engine and colour) are never combined into a calculated figure. Surviving examples are never presented as original production.

History

Adrian Squire set up the company with Jock Manby-Colegrave and Reginald Slay, launching it in January 1934 with £6,000 from workshops at Remenham Hill. A prototype was running by summer 1934 at £995, later cut to £695, and bodies included Vanden Plas coachwork, the lightweight 'Skimpy' and Ranalah. Sales stayed slow and the factory closed after only seven cars; owner Val Zethrin bought the remaining spares, and Adrian Squire was killed in a 1940 air raid on Bristol.

Technical specifications

Engine

Transmission & drivetrain

Chassis, body & dimensions

Performance

“Not yet verified” means no source has been checked for that value yet. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1. 1
   Grace's Guide – Squire Car Manufacturing Co Level C

   • 7 cars produced over a two-year period

   Accessed 2026-11-11
2. 2
   Squire Car Manufacturing Co Level C Grace's Guide

   • six cars still survive

   Accessed 2026-11-12
3. 3
   1936 Squire 1½ Litre Tourer (chassis 1501) Level C Gooding & Company

   • Anzani
   • DOHC Inline 4-Cylinder Engine; David Brown Roots-type supercharger
   • 1,496 cc
   • David Brown Roots-type supercharger; single SU carburetor
   • 110 HP at 5,000 RPM
   • 4-speed Wilson ENV pre-selector
   • 4-speed
   • 4-wheel hydraulic finned alloy drum brakes

   Accessed 2026-11-12