Trojan’s marketing for the Utility Car calculated that over 200 miles, walking would wear out more shoe leather and socks than it would cost to just drive the car - hence the slogan "Can you afford to walk?"
Lead trim: Utility Car 1.5 L engine (1920 revision)
Trojan Utility CarUtility Car · 1914–1928
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Trojan Utility Car yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactTrojan’s marketing for the Utility Car calculated that over 200 miles, walking would wear out more shoe leather and socks than it would cost to just drive the car - hence the slogan "Can you afford to walk?"
The Trojan Utility Car, designed by company founder Leslie Hounsfield (a 1913 prototype led to production from 1914), was deliberately unconventional: rather than a chassis, a punt-shaped tray housed the engine and transmission beneath the seats, with chain drive to solid-tyre wheels, and the whole car started by pulling a lever beside the driver. It launched at £230, undercutting to £125 by 1925 (matching the Model T Ford); Trojan's "Can you afford to walk?" advertising claimed 200 miles by Trojan cost less than the shoe leather to walk the same distance. The original 1,527 cc engine was replaced in 1920 by a smaller 1,488 cc unit (bringing the car into the sub-1.5-litre tax class) with pneumatic tyres offered as an option and a 5,000-mile guarantee; top speed was 38 mph, made famous by a major Brooke Bond tea delivery-van contract. Leyland built the cars under licence at its Kingston-upon-Thames works until 1928 (11,000 cars and 6,700 vans made in total). The page gives no wheelbase or body dimensions, so those are left unset here rather than estimated; the printed 38 mph top speed is also left out of specs, since the registry's 50 mph floor for that field rejects it — the number is real, just below what the schema accepts.
Collectors Spotted in the Trojan Utility Car Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Trojan Utility Car yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
One published trim in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utility Car 1.5 L engine (1920 revision) | 1920–1928 | 1.5 L | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Owning one
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Owners’ builds
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Photographs
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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