Having abandoned plans to produce a 20hp touring car, John Weller turned his not inconsiderable design talents to something more mundane - a three-wheeled commercial delivery vehicle that would suit the needs of his businessman backer, John Portwine.

Called the ‘Auto-Carrier’ this wood-framed device was powered by a single-cylinder, 636cc, air-cooled (by fans) engine mounted beneath the driver’s seat and driving the rear wheel, via a two-speed epicyclic gearbox, by chain.

Steering was by means of a tiller, with goods carried in a box between the front wheels.

Introduced in 1904, the Auto-Carrier was an immediate success.

A passenger version - the Sociable - arrived in 1907, a second seat replacing the goods box.

A three-seater followed and then the definitive version with side-by-side seating for the driver and a single passenger.

Exported widely throughout the British Empire and beyond, the Sociable was for many people their first experience of powered transport.

Built in 1912 ...