Editing D. Napier & Son (section)

====Racing====
[[File:Napier 8 hp car in the Thousand Miles Trial of the Automobile Club in 1900.png|thumb|right|200px|Napier car in the Thousand Miles Trial of the Automobile Club]]

Recognizing the value of publicity gained from [[auto racing|racing]], which no other British marque did,<ref name="Wise589">Wise (1974) p. 589.</ref> in spring, Edge entered an {{convert|8|hp|kW|abbr=on}} Napier in the Thousand Miles (1,600&nbsp;km) [[Classic Trials|Trial]] of the [[Royal Automobile Club|Automobile Club]] on behalf of [[Mary Eliza Kennard]]; driven by Edge, with Kennard along, on a circuit from Newbury to Edinburgh and back, it won its class, being one of only thirty-five finishers (of sixty-four starters<ref>Wise (1974) {{Page needed|date=July 2011}}</ref>) and one of just twelve to average the requisite {{convert|12|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} in England and {{convert|10|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} in Scotland.<ref>Wise (1974) p. 1486.</ref>

By June 1900, eight "16 hp"s had been ordered, and Edge entered one in the {{convert|837|mi|km|abbr=on}} Paris-[[Toulouse]]-Paris race, with [[Charles Rolls|Charles S. Rolls]] (co-founder of Rolls-Royce) as [[riding mechanic]]. The {{convert|301.6|cuin|L|abbr=on}} ({{convert|101.6|x|152.4|mm|in|abbr=on|disp=comma}}) [[sidevalve]] suffered problems with its ignition coils and cooling system, and failed to finish.<ref>Wise (1974) {{Page needed|date=July 2011}}</ref>

For 1901, Montague designed a car sure not to lack speed, having a {{convert|16.3|L|cuin|order=flip}} ({{convert|165.1|x|190.5|mm|in|abbr=on|disp=comma}}) sidevalve four capable of {{convert|103|bhp|abbr=on}} at 800 rpm, on a wheelbase of {{convert|115|in|m}}<ref name="Wise">Wise (1974)</ref> with four-speed [[gearbox]] and chain drive. Called the "50 hp", only two or three were completed, including one for Rolls.<ref name="Wise"/> Edge entered one in the 1901 [[Gordon Bennett Cup in auto racing|Gordon Bennett Cup]], only able to test it ''en route'' (it was completed 25 May, only four days before the event), Montague serving as his riding mechanic; it overpowered its Dunlops, and fitting new (French) tyres led to disqualification, since they were not of the same nation of origin.<ref>Wise (1974) pp. 1486–7.</ref> In the concurrent [[Paris-Bordeaux rally]], it retired with clutch trouble.<ref>Hull (1974), p. 1487.</ref>

For the [[1902 Gordon Bennett Cup|1902 Gordon Bennett]], three entrants (the Charron-Girardot-Voigt, a [[Mors (automobile)|Mors]] and a [[Panhard]]) contested for France, with Edge in a Napier and two Wolseleys. The Napier was a three-speed, shaft-drive 6.44-litre (392.7&nbsp;cu&nbsp;in) four ({{convert|127|x|127|mm|in|abbr=on}} of {{convert|44.5|hp|kW|abbr=on}} (though described as a 30&nbsp;hp). Piloted by Edge and his cousin, Cecil, it wore what would become known as [[British racing green]], and won at an average {{convert|31.8|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}; although by default, since all other entrants retired during the race. It was the first British victory in international motorsport, and would not be repeated until [[Henry Segrave]] took the [[French Grand Prix]] in 1923.<ref name="Wise"/>

[[File:Glidden in London.jpg|thumb|[[Charles J. Glidden]] on his world tour of 1902]]
Napiers also inspired [[Charles J. Glidden]] to create the [[Glidden Tours]] in upstate [[New York state|New York]], which in turn persuaded Napier to build a factory in Boston. It, along with the [[Genoa]] factory (managed by [[Arthur McDonald]]), which built Napiers under licence as San Giorgios from 1906 to 1909, was not a success.<ref>Wise (1974), p.1488.</ref>

Annual production reached 250 cars in 1903, overwhelming the Lambeth factory, so a move was made to a new {{convert|3.75|acre|ha|adj=on|lk=out}} plant at [[Acton, London|Acton]], in west London. On 16 October of that year, Napier announced a six-cylinder car for 1904 and became the first manufacturer to make a commercially successful six, a "remarkably smooth and flexible" vehicle<ref name="Wise"/> 18&nbsp;hp 301&nbsp;cu&nbsp;in (4.9-litre) ({{convert|101.6|x|101.6|mm|in|abbr=on}} with a three-speed gearbox and chain drive.<ref name="Wise"/> Within five years, there were 62 makers of six-cylinder cars in Britain alone, including the [[Ford Motor Company]]'s 1906 [[Ford Model K|Model K]].<ref>[[G. N. Georgano]] ''Cars: Early and Vintage, 1886–1930''. (London: Grange-Universal, 1985)</ref>

[[File:1904 Six Cylinder Napier Race Car.jpg|thumb|right|1904 Napier 6-cylinder racing car]]
Napier's 1902 win brought the Gordon Bennett hosting duties to the United Kingdom, and the 1903 event was held south of [[Dublin]], with three shaft-driven Napiers defending the British honour, all in the (later famous) racing green: two 470 cubic inch (7708&nbsp;cc) {{convert|45|hp|kW|abbr=on}} fours for [[Charles Jarrott (racing driver)|Charles Jarrott]] and [[J. W. Stocks]], with McDonald, the Genoa plant manager, his riding mechanic, and an 80-horsepower (838 cubic inch, 13,726&nbsp;cc), the Type K5, for Edge. Jarrott and Stocks crashed, and Edge was disqualified.<ref name="Hull 1974">Hull (1974)</ref> It was a bad year for Napier's racing programme; a 35&nbsp;hp in the hands of Colonel [[Mark Mayhew]] in the [[Paris–Madrid rally]] lost its steering and hit a tree. Edge, again with McDonald, fared no better with the K5 in the 1904 Gordon Bennett in Germany, but a new 920 cubic inch (15-litre; 158.7&nbsp;× 127&nbsp;mm, 6.25&nbsp;× 5-inch) six, the L48, with an external radiator reminiscent of the [[Cord 810]], set the fastest time at the Velvet Strand speed trials at [[Portmarnock]], Ireland, in September, piloted by McDonald.<ref>Wise (1974) p. 1,489</ref>

In January 1905, the L48, again with McDonald in the seat, took the mile (1.6&nbsp;km) record at [[Daytona Beach|Ormonde Beach]] at {{convert|104.65|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}; although this was shortly broken by Bowden's [[Mercedes (car)|Mercedes]], the run was disallowed. The versatile McDonald ran the L48 in the 1905 Gordon Bennett qualifying event at the [[Isle of Man]], taken over for the race by works driver [[Clifford Earp]], who placed ninth.

Edge's secretary, [[Dorothy Levitt]], drove a {{convert|100|hp|kW|abbr=on}} development of the K5 at the [[Blackpool Speed Trials|Blackpool]] and [[Brighton Speed Trials]] in 1905, and the next year ran the L48 at the Blackpool Speed Trials, showing talent by equalling Edge's speed and setting a women's record in the [[flying kilometre]] of {{convert|90.88|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Wise"/>

By 1907, 1200&nbsp;people were employed by Napier and were making about a hundred cars a year, aided by continuing racing success. [[Brooklands]] opened that year, where Napier engineer [[H. C. Tryon]] won the first ever event in a {{convert|40|hp|abbr=on}}, and Edge made a famous 24-hour run in June, covering {{convert|1,581|mi|km}} at an average {{convert|65.905|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} in a 60-horsepower 589 cubic inch (9,652&nbsp;cc) (127&nbsp;× 127&nbsp;mm, 5&nbsp;× 5-inch) six, a record which stood for 18&nbsp;years.<ref>Hull (1974), p. 1,489.</ref> The L48, nicknamed ''Samson'', became famous there in the venue's first two years; in 1908, Napier's [[Frank Newton (racing driver)|Frank Newton]] covered {{convert|1/2|mi|m|spell=in}} at {{convert|119.34|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} in a stroked (178&nbsp;mm, 7-inch) L48.<ref name="Hull 1974"/>

The company's last race win was with a four-cylinder at the 1908 [[RAC Tourist Trophy|Tourist Trophy]], using an alias, Hutton, to preserve the reputation of the sixes, in the hands of [[William Watson (motoring pioneer)|Willy Watson]].<ref>Hull (1974), p. 1490.</ref> At the [[French Grand Prix]], officials showed the perverse reasoning for which they later became notorious by claiming that removable wire wheels were an unfair advantage.<ref name="Wise589"/>

When Napier was no longer in racing, its Lion aero engine was used by several [[:Category:Vehicles powered by Napier Lion engines|land speed record contestant]]s: [[Malcolm Campbell]]'s [[Napier-Campbell Blue Bird]] of 1927 and [[Campbell-Napier-Railton Blue Bird]] of 1931, Segrave's [[Golden Arrow (car)|''Golden Arrow'']] of 1929, and [[John Cobb (motorist)|John Cobb]]'s [[Napier-Railton]] and [[Railton Special|Railton Mobil Special]], which held the record from 1939 to 1964.

[[File:Dorothy Levitt driving the Napier motor yacht 1903.jpg|thumb|right|Dorothy Levitt driving the Napier motor yacht 1903]]
[[File:Napier racing motor launch (Rankin Kennedy, Modern Engines, Vol V).jpg|thumb|Napier racing motor launch of 1905]]