Petters Limited

James Bazeley Petter, an agricultural engineer and iron founder, had premises in the Borough, Yeovil.

[3] Three years later they designed the first internal combustion engined motor car to be made in the United Kingdom.

The car, using a converted four-wheel horse-drawn phaeton and a 3 hp (2 kW) twin-cylinder horizontal oil engine, had a top speed of 12 miles per hour (19 km/h).

[3] A contemporary report said: The twins continued to develop vehicles, the twelfth of which they entered to a competition at Crystal Palace in 1897, without success.

In parallel with these efforts in 1902 Petter and Jacobs created the first agricultural tractor, powered by a 30 hp [3] oil engine.

[9] Petter models included the two-stroke M-type (petrol), the S-type (stationary diesel) and the A- and A1 (air-cooled) - the only noticeable difference between the last two being the position of the magneto (in the type A it protrudes; in the type A1 it is tucked away below), and an economy 'handyman' version of the M-type, and a comprehensive range of air-cooled diesels that included the PAZ1, AVA range, and the 3.5 hp AA1.

In 1912 the company went public and began engine production in a new factory named the Nautilus Works (after the fire grates that had made James Petter's fortune) in Reckleford, Yeovil.

While rural contraptions in work used for casual heavy transport in Indian Punjab are known as "peter rehras" after the brand of engine that gained popularity there in days gone by.