GWK (car)

The GWK was a British car made in Maidenhead, Berkshire, between 1911 and 1931. It got its name from its founders, Arthur Grice, J Talfourd Wood and C.M. Keiller.

The prototype was made in a stable in Beckenham, Kent, and used a Coventry-Simplex engine, rear mounted. The drive system involved the engine, which was mounted across the chassis, turning a disc on which a wheel could be moved from the periphery to the centre. Top speed was with the driven wheel furthest from the centre and reverse was obtained by moving it past the centre. A few examples were sold before the company moved to Datchet, Buckinghamshire in 1912.

Proper production now started still using a water cooled, Coventry-Simplex twin cylinder engine of 1045 cc and 1069 two-seat cars were made before the outbreak of World War 1 and a move to war work. A move was also made to the larger Cordwallis Works in Maidenhead in 1914. During the war the company was run by Grice as his partners were in the army.

Grice left the company in 1920 to start the unsuccessful Unit car company leaving Wood and Keiller in charge. They re-introduced the pre-war model, now called the Type E, and a further 82 were made largely from left over parts. A new model, the Type F was introduced in 1919 and was front engined with a...
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