Cowey

Cowey Engineering Co. Ltd was a British car manufacturer based in Kew Gardens, Surrey.

The company first attracted attention at the 1910 Olympia Show, where it exhibited two cars designed to demonstrate a pneumatic suspension system. This system replaced conventional springs with four cylinders of compressed air and included a self-levelling device, a feature that would later appear in more advanced form in the Citroën DS19 some decades afterward. The two show cars were fitted with De Dion-Bouton engines of 10 and 20 hp and rode on solid tyres, a choice intended to highlight the effectiveness of the compressed air suspension rather than rely on pneumatic tyres for comfort.

These early cars were experimental in nature, but three years later Cowey brought a production light car to market that retained the same air suspension principle. This model was powered by a 10 hp four-cylinder Chapuis-Dornier engine and featured a bullnose radiator similar in style to that of Morris cars. It also used a friction drive system, in which a flywheel with a conical facing served as the driving disc. The car was offered for sale at a price of £300.