The Critchley Light car was briefly manufactured by Daimler Company of Coventry in 1899 to find use for about 50 unwanted 4 h.p. engines shipped to Coventry by the German Daimler works at Stuttgart.^[4][6] The car was well regarded and sold well but was not intended to extend Daimler's range of high-powered expensive motorcars. As such, it was named Critchley after James S. Critchley Daimler's works manager^[7]

The car was equipped with advanced features, including pneumatic tyres and wheel steering. The engine was mounted transversely, with the flywheel rotating in the direction of travel.^[6] The water-cooled engine drove the rear wheels through a belt transmission.^[7] The belt was tensioned by moving the engine forward or backward in the frame. The steering wheel was on a vertical column on the right side of the car, such that it could only be operated by the driver's right hand.^[3]

In 1900, a redesign of the Critchley Light Car was built and sold as the "Kimberley".^[8]