The Coleman Milne Grosvenor is a stretched limousine built by Coleman Milne, a British coachbuilder specialising in funeral vehicles, limousines and specialist vehicles. It is one of a family of conversions based on the Ford Granada, alongside the Minster and the Dorchester.
Coleman Milne Grosvenor at a glance
| Coachbuilder | Coleman Milne, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Base vehicle | Ford Granada |
| Body type | Stretched limousine |
| Granada-based range | Minster, Dorchester, Cardinal |
| Company founded | 1953, by John Coleman and Roderick Milne |
| First conversions | stretched Ford Zephyr |
| Parent company from 1992 | Woodall Nicholson Limited |
| Administration | 20 November 2023 |
| New owner from 2024 | Guido Dumarey |
| Main customers | limousine hire companies, corporations, government departments, royal families |
There is no separate Wikipedia article on the Grosvenor; this page is based on the English Wikipedia article on Coleman Milne, which names the Ford Grosvenor limousine and describes the Granada-based range. based on one source.
History of the Coleman Milne Grosvenor
Coleman Milne was founded in 1953 by John Coleman and Roderick Milne. The firm started in vehicle body repairs and horse boxes, then found a niche converting cars into limousines and funeral hearses. Its customers ranged from corporations and financial institutions to local authorities, government departments, police constabularies, limousine hire companies and funeral directors, and vehicles were also supplied to British and overseas royal families.
The company began by stretching the Ford Zephyr and then moved to the Ford Granada, on which several versions were based: the Minster, the Dorchester and the Grosvenor. The Grosvenor was the limousine of this Granada family, offered alongside the Dorchester saloon; in the autumn of 1982 the Dorchester was also made available as an estate with elongated rear doors, called the Windsor. Working from a volume-produced Ford gave the coachbuilder a dependable base, with the mechanical parts, trim and running gear of a car that was sold and serviced across Britain.
In 1992 a management buy-out made Coleman Milne a trading division under the holding company Woodall Nicholson Limited. The business went on building hearses and limousines, later adding Mercedes and Rolls-Royce based vehicles, a Mondeo estate removal vehicle, the Sure-Lift removal ambulance and a Mustang Mach-E hearse and limousine. On 20 November 2023 the companies entered administration; in 2024 the Belgian industrial entrepreneur Guido Dumarey bought Coleman Milne along with VCS Police, Mellor Bus, Treka Bus, Promech and JM Engineering, and consolidated them under a new holding company, Woodall Nicholson.
Design and features
- Granada base: the running gear and much of the body of a mainstream Ford saloon.
- Stretched body: extra length in the middle for rear-seat passengers, the point of a Coleman Milne limousine.
- One of a family: sold next to the Minster, Dorchester and Cardinal conversions.
- Coachbuilder’s finish: built by a firm whose trade was turning production cars into specialist vehicles.
Coleman Milne Grosvenor versions
- Grosvenor limousine: the Granada-based stretched limousine described here.
- Minster: another Granada-based Coleman Milne conversion.
- Dorchester: the Granada-based limousine listed alongside the Grosvenor.
- Windsor: the Dorchester estate with elongated rear doors, from the autumn of 1982.
- Cardinal: the Granada-based hearse in the same range.
The Grosvenor shares its Granada base with the Coleman Milne Cardinal hearse. Other conversions are gathered in the Coleman Milne collection.
Sources
- Coleman Milne, English Wikipedia: company history, Granada range, customers, administration and 2024 sale
