Thursday 4th November 1920

Leyland Eight, Britain’s first car with an in-line eight cylinder engine, with an overhead camshaft and a capacity of 7 litres, was launched at the London Motor Show. The price was over £3000 and perhaps not surprisingly there were few takers, with total production amounting to not more than 18 units. The Leyland Eight bristled with ingenious features and had considerable performance potential, as evidenced by special racing versions designed by Parry Thomas which gave up to 200 bhp and set several speed records.