Bell Automotive started out as a ammunition manufacturer in the Brecon mountains of Wales at the start of WW1 all the way up to the end of WW2, during the first year of WW2 however one of our employees from the casting workshop was designing a car in his spare time, the unknown (at the time) man went to the boss one evening after completing his design and presented the plans to the CEO. Fast forward a few years to 1940 and under secrecy the company was tooling up the empty storage warehouse to accomodate a small production line of this car, by 1941 the car was ready and we unveiled it to a small group of investors who saw this as an oppertunity to get working class Britain and the soldiers their very own car, so production went under way with a civillian version and a military version. This car (Corleone) proved to be very sucessful and by the end of WW2 the company was booming and looking to expand quickly to the states (we still managed despite rationing).
1941 Bell Corleone 1000 (Civillian Model)
Company Lineup:
1941 - 1954 Bell Corleone (Recieves facelift in 1949)(Military version produced until 1946)(Yes an Italian name was a bit strange considering they were not allied with us but oh well)
1941 - 1961 Bell Lexarion (Recieves facelift in 1949 & 1956)(only 100 made per year and increased to 250 after rationing ended)
1942 - 1975 Bell Snowdon (Recieves facelift in 1949, 1956, 1962 & 1970)
1945 - 1953 Bell Citadel (Never gets facelift)
1945 - 1960 Bell Brecon (Recieves facelift in 1953)
1946 - 1975 Bell Champion (Never gets facelift but does get improvements)
1950 - 1974 Bell Saver (Recieves facelift in 1956, 1962 & 1969)
1953 - 1954 Bell Montague (Special car with only 10 cars made)
1955 - 1969 Bell Corleone (Recieves facelift in 1963)
1955 - 1957 Bell Winchester (Hand made limited production)
1955 - 1965 Bell SC (Hand made sports car with special order engines, Manual only)
1955 - 1960 Bell GT25 (Limited run of 200, hand finished car)
Stats for Bell Automotives’ car’s can be found here Sillyworld Buyers Guide
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While the Corleone was being tooled we had some left over metal so we decided we would tool a larger variant as a limited production hand made saloon car, the result of that was the Lexarion, this model proved to be loved by the American soldiers due to the large I6 engine and larger proprtions. This got us thinking and we tooled up to build a LHD model to ship a small quantity to America. The car was popular among the American troops stationed in the UK and sold quickly when sent to the United States where we found it featuring in films over in Hollywood.
1941 Bell Lexarion Class
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By the time 1942 came around we had sorted an American plant in Houston, Texas, USA thanks to our investors. We started designing a pick-up truck straight away and started to get all the tooling sorted out ready for the grand opening of the factory, by mid 1942 we were ready to turn on the production line and reveal our newest vehicle to the local press. From the moment we activated the production line it was all go go go, The first truck rolled off of the production line on August 12th 1942. The snowdon was about to take America by storm.
1942 Bell Snowdon I6 Truck
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So a couple of eventful years pass by designing a new car for the American people, by 1945 we had cracked it and what better way to celebrate the end of the war than with a brand new car. The Citadel is built with Americans in mind coming with either an Inline 6 engine or a V8.
1945 Bell Citadel showing the Deluxe Trim which comes standard with a V8 and 3 Speed Manual
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Grill work on the citadel is truly excellent!
Back in Wales the design team gathered around a whiteboard drinking tea and munching on Welsh cakes a few years ago when one of the designers suggested a ‘sports car’, everyone gasped and laughed at his idea due to the war at the time but when D-Day arrived in 1945 the design was quickly tooled ready for production (as it is a hand made car there was no time at all before production started).
Bell Brecon 2500C
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The Bell Champion is our answere to cheap fun motoring.
In 1946 we decided it would be good to release a cheap lightweight sports car, this car was the Champion. Weighing in at only 596kg you could pick it up with your pinky finger, the 76hp 1300cc engine shifts the car along nicely too thanks to its lightweight.
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What is this, 2 cars?
First off is the super cheap and not very sporty Bell Saver 1100C Coupe, it has a 1.1 DAOHC I4.
Then it is our special racing car, it has a v8 racing engine and introduces racing driving to the road, only 5 in this trim are being made.
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1955 Bell Corleone 1600 Saloon
The nice new cheap but stylish family car
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1955 Bell Winchester V12
An extremely luxurious hand made car with a 2.5 V12 engine.
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1955 Bell SC1600
The cheaper hand built sports car
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1955 Bell GT25, the SC’s big V12 brother.
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1955 Bell Vegas Touring
A premium yank tank with a grumbling 5.0 V8
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1958 Bell Loadall Carry L or S
The van fit for all the jobs
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Damn! Plenty of power for a van with that.
It is pretty undriveable unloaded thanks to that, once it is loaded up though it will have the power and traction for those tough hills in Wales and Scotland
1960 Bell Brecon
the British Datsun, not just badge engineering though, we have put our own engines and design cues on the car.
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1960 Bell Citadel
There’s a new premium car on the market, and it doesn’t break the bank.
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1961 Bell Lexarion
This gigantic yank tank will look good on anyones drive
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