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  • Timeline

Austin

Herbert Austin

The story of Austin of England begins in Longbridge, South Birmingham, just as it continued until 2019, as the only remaining factory in British hands in what was once, a huge and sprawling empire. Herbert Austin had started out in the motor industry, working at Wolseley cars, where he quickly became the general manager.

In 1905, he resigned from the company, so he could set-up on his own. Production of his first car, the chain-driven 25/30HP, started a year later – this particular car being noteworthy for being well-made, employing a side valve T-head engine and separately cast cylinders.

Production was expanded so that within three years, Austin offered a full range of 15, 18/24 and 40HP four cylinder models and a 60HP Six. Four of the six cylinder models were entered in the 1908 French Grand Prix, but two of these were crash damaged in practice. Out of the two damaged cars, one good one was salvaged, but it fared badly in the race, suffering from a seizure. The two that were left did go on to finish, crossed the line in 18th and 19th position.

The first mini-Austin breaks cover

In 1909, a mini car, the single cylinder 7HP model appeared. It was effectively a re-badged Swift, but it was in no doubt the inspiration for the later Austin Seven of 1922. Austin was growing as a car producer, offering this full range of cars, starting at the 7HP, through the odd 15HP model with its cab-over-engine configuration, culminating with the 60HP model, which boasted an engine of almost 6.0 litres.

Production was punctuated by WW1 in 1914, as was life itself. 1919 saw the next change in the Austin manufacturing philosophy where instead of previously, there had been a wide range of cars, catering for a wide range of tastes, he offered just one car – the 3.6-litre Austin 20. Unfortunately, this large, American inspired car failed to sell in any great numbers and along with mounting losses caused by the government decreed West Works Shell factory, led to Austin being placed under receivership in 1920.

In double-quick time, Austin produced a smaller, more UK-friendly design, the 1.6-litre Austin Twelve, effectively a scaled down version of the Austin 20. This car did manage to sell and remained in production until 1936, seemingly beginning the love affair that UK Manufacturers seem to have with long production runs.

Seven revolutionises Austin

1923 Austin 7 four-seater Tourer
1923 Austin Seven four-seater Tourer

The car that saved Austin’s bacon, though, was the legendary Seven, launched a year after the Twelve, in 1922. Conceived as a response to the motorcycle/side-car combinations that Herbert Austin despised so much, but which were proliferating on our roads. He and draftsman Stanley Edge planned the car using the billiard table he possessed at home in order to give it scale. The resulting car was a 696cc (later enlarged to 747cc) open topped four-seater which could most aptly be described as a scaled down replica of a full-sized car.

The Seven proved to be a huge success, helping put the working class on wheels, and it went on to sell 290,000 in a production that continued through to 1939. The companies that would become BMW in Bavaria began car production building the Austin Seven under licence. Nissan’s version of the Austin Seven, however, was a clone of the car – not an agreed venture – and when Herbert Austin inspected one of Nissan’s cars, it was considered just different enough to avoid litigation…

Because of the success of the Seven, Austin re-embarked on his bid to build larger cars, developing and launching a replacement for the ill-fated Austin 20, this time using a 3.4 litre six-cylinder engine, as opposed to the four of its predecessor.

Austin’s growth pre- and post-war

In the run-up to WW2, as well as the larger cars, Austin’s range comprised of the 2.3-litre Austin Sixteen, launched in 1928, the 1125cc Austin Ten, the 1525cc Austin Light 12/4 and the replacement for the Austin Seven, the unoriginally named 900cc Austin Eight.

After WW2, Austin initially built its pre-war models, but quickly produced, its first post-war model, the Austin Sixteen. This was not an entirely new car, comprising of a new-to-Austin overhead valve engine displacing 2199cc, which was fitted to the 1940-vintage Austin Twelve body and chassis.

The genuinely new cars soon began to arrive, though. In 1948, the Princess, the A125 Sheerline, the A70 Hampshire and the 1.2-litre A40 all appeared in quick succession. The Austin A40 Devon, which boasted independent front suspension and a 1.2-lire engine which was considered to be the direct predecessor to the visually similar and long-lived B-Series engine.

Building for America

Austin Atlantic
Austin Atlantic

The year of 1948 also saw the introduction of the Austin A90 Atlantic, a car pitched unashamedly at the US car market. ‘Export or Die’ was the slogan of late-’40s Britain and the A90 was built with just this in mind. It possessed what could be described as Transatlantic styling intended to appeal to the Americans. Needless to say, it did not – and of course, the British did not find it a whole lot appealing either, if only they could buy it anyway. The 2660cc did, however, outlive the car – ending up in the Austin Healey sports car as well as a few in the civilian version of the Austin Champ.

The last cars to be developed Austin, while still an independent company were the Metropolitan, Cambridge and the Westminster.

Austin Metropolitan
Austin Metropolitan

Austin and Morris join to form BMC

Old rivalries were slaked in 1952 when Austin and Morris merged to form the British Motor Corporation; that year saw the appearance of Longbridge’s first unitary construction car, the A30, with an 803cc A-Series overhead-valve engine. The curiously styled Metropolitan (above), another Longbridge bid to break into the American market, and made initially for Nash (later part of American Motors) appeared in 1954. It was powered by a 948cc A40 engine.

New in 1955 were the Cambridge, with A40 or A50 engines, and the 2.6-litre six-cylinder C-Series-powered Westminster. The 1959 range was styled by Farina, whose Austin Cambridge theme was repeated on badge-engineered versions of the MG, Morris, Wolseley and Riley. That year, too, the revolutionary Mini appeared, and was initially sold as the Austin Se7en.

Designed by Alec Issigonis, it featured a transversely-mounted 848 cc A-series power unit with a four-speed gearbox in the sump. Unconventional features of the design were Moulton rubber suspension, 10-inch wheels and a distinctive boxy shape.

Front-wheel drive revolution

The Mini was followed in 1964 by the Austin 1100, with Hydrolastic
suspension also sold as a Morris earlier from 1962), with the less successful 1800 following two years later.

BMC was swallowed by Leyland in 1968 to form British Leyland; the following year the Maxi appeared, with a 1485cc overhead-cam engine.
Rear-Wheel drive was phased out for good out in 1971 when the short-lived
3-litre ceased production.

The Maxi was followed by the Allegro and 18-22 Series (briefly), and the Metro in 1980. That should have been the beginning of the rebirth of Austin, but the Maestro and Montego failed to sell in enough numbers to make a profit – leaving the Austin name to quietly die out in 1987, overshadowed as it was by the newly-emergent Rover…


Features, blogs and development stories

Austin Kimberley/Tasman (X6)

The cars : Austin Kimberley development story

26 October 2020 Keith Adams 43

The Austin Kimberley and Tasman, and their Morris-badged cousins, were an interesting development of the BMC 1800/2200 reserved for the Antipodean markets only. They featured conventional three-box styling and were […]

Metro Cooper - 1981
Austin/MG Metro (LC8)

The cars : Metro Cooper (AKA Monaco) development story

17 May 2022 Keith Adams 8

Unbelievably, the Metro Cooper was not offered as a ‘factory-backed’ conversion, even though it came with a blue chip pedigree. But there was a good reason why John Cooper Garages […]

Austin/MG Metro (LC8)

The converters : Frazer-Tickford Metro

15 May 2022 Keith Adams 9

Frazer established itself as a new car company in 1981, offering this fabulous-looking Tickford Metro, which was first shown at that year’s London Motorfair. The Tickford name was owned by […]

MG Metro 1300
Austin/MG Metro (LC8)

Raise a glass to : 40 years of the MG Metro

11 May 2022 Keith Adams 36

Well, here we are. Would you believe that it’s four decades since the MG Metro 1300 was launched, and enthusiasts of the marque were getting all hot and bothered? But […]

Austin Maxi (ADO14)

Tested : Maxi, Marina and rivals

7 May 2022 Keith Adams 19

Taken from the first-ever issue of What Car? magazine in November 1973, this test makes for a fascinating read and is a great insight into how road tests used to […]

Austin Allegro
AROnline News

News : 1981 220-mile Austin Allegro goes up for sale

21 April 2022 Keith Adams 16

A 354km (220 mile), unregistered Austin Allegro Series 3 has come up for sale, some 41 years after leaving the production line at Longbridge… but there is a catch – […]

Austin A30/A35/A40

The cars : Austin A30/A35 development story

11 April 2022 Keith Adams 48

Keith Adams tells the story of the Austin A30 and A35. Here we had a surprising technological leader and one of Britain’s most popular baby cars before the Mini’s arrival […]

Austin Ambassador managed to look different to the Princess, but like just about all end-of-term facelifts of aging cars, it did not improve on the original. The addition of a hatchback made a vast difference to the practicality of the car and, overall, the Ambassador was a useful improvement over the Princess. But by 1982, did anyone care?
Austin Ambassador (LM19)

Raise a glass to : 40 years of the Austin Ambassador

16 February 2022 Keith Adams 37

Well, the passage of time has played its cruel hand once more, and serves to remind us that we’re all getting older. And this time it’s the Austin Ambassador to […]

Around the World

The cars : Etsong Lubao QE6400/QE6440 (2001-2003)

1 February 2022 Keith Adams 3

The first in a three-part story about the continuation of the Maestro’s afterlife in China. The acquisition of production rights for the Maestro in the late-1990s by Etsong was intended […]

Around the World

The cars : Ledbury Maestro – Rodacar’s Bulgarian Austin

6 November 2021 Keith Adams 17

There was an operation to build Austin Maestros in Bulgaria, and we have the full and exclusive story of how it came together. Meet the Rodacar Maestro – which we […]

Maestro Express
Austin/MG Maestro (LC10)

Concepts and prototypes : Maestro Express (1987)

5 September 2021 David Morgan 16

The Maestro Express was conceived by Austin Rover Group following a competition staged by a national newspaper to gauge the views of female drivers about their experiences of car ownership. […]

Montego v Primera 01
Austin/MG Montego (LM11)

Our Cars : Nissan Primera vs Montego

13 July 2021 Neil Turner 23

At first glance, a comparison between the brilliant Nissan Primera and the highly-developed Montego looks like a one-horse race.  However, as the owner of these two cars, Neil Turner, explains […]

Austin Allegro (ADO67)

Concepts and prototypes : Austin Allegro (1968-1972)

5 July 2021 Keith Adams 70

The Austin Allegro was almost universally lambasted for being ugly, frumpy and undesirable looking. But the company never set out to build a willfully ugly car, as these images clearly […]

Austin Allegro (ADO67)

The cars : Austin Allegro Equipe (1979)

5 July 2021 Keith Adams 42

Keith Adams tells the short-and-sweet story of the Austin Allegro Equipe – a go-faster saloon that its maker sold as a homegrown alternative to the Alfa Romeo Alfasud Ti or […]

Austin Allegro 1750 Sport 1974-75
Austin Allegro (ADO67)

The cars : Austin Allegro 1750 Sport (twin carb) 1974-75

1 July 2021 Chris Cowin 23

Chris Cowin looks at a rare and half-forgotten Austin Allegro: the twin-carb Allegro 1750 Sport which was only available for one year. It’s the Allegro that ‘catches that sporting feeling’ […]

All the cars I've owned

All the cars I’ve owned : Austin Allegro 1500 Super

7 June 2021 Keith Adams 21

In a driving career spanning more than 30 years and 250+ cars, Keith Adams highlights some of the highs… and lows. Here, in the third of the series, it’s time […]

Austin Ambassador (LM19)

History : BMC, BL, Rover and other Development Codes

8 May 2021 Keith Adams 29

Ever wondered what all those ADO, YDO and LC numbers mean when we’re discussing the history of BMC, BL and Rover cars? […]

Austin/MG Metro (LC8)

The cars : MG Metro 6R4 Group B

22 February 2021 Keith Adams 39

The MG Metro 6R4 was Austin Rover’s entry into Group B, the controversial rallying category that gave us a series of spectacular cars before being banned at the end of […]

Austin Metro
Austin/MG Metro (LC8)

The cars : Austin Metro (LC8) development story

1 February 2021 Keith Adams 49

Based on the Mini, the Austin Metro shared its A-Series engine, and when launched in 1980, it was hailed as the car to save British Leyland. It did, too… […]

AR16/17

Concepts and prototypes : Austin AR16 (1984-1985)

20 January 2021 Keith Adams 57

Central to Austin Rover’s plans for the late-1980s and into the ’90s was a fresh-looking replacement for the under-performing Montego. There were many promising design proposals, but the AR16 and […]

Austin Allegro (ADO67)

The cars : Austin Allegro 1300 Special

5 January 2021 Chris Cowin 51

The Austin Allegro 1300 Special, a version never offered on the British market, had a great deal more showroom appeal than most UK versions. Chris Cowin takes a closer look… […]

MG Maestro on Crossroads, 1985
Austin/MG Maestro (LC10)

Memories : Birmingham, September 1984, Crossroads Motel

4 January 2021 David Morgan 15

David Morgan remembers the launch of the new opening credits for the Midlands’ most famous motel in March 1985, but filmed in September 1984 complete with an MG Maestro 1600. […]

Austin/MG Montego (LM11)

Essay : Austin Montego – The case for the Defence

1 January 2021 Mike Humble 71

Mike Humble sticks his head above the parapet to come to the defence of the Austin Montego and its marqueless later versions. After years of running and servicing the 1980s […]

Austin/MG Metro (LC8)

Tested : MG Metro Turbo vs 205GTI vs XR2

7 November 2020 Keith Adams 82

Warm hatch wonders With fewer than 50 MG Metro Turbos left on the road in the UK, it’s time to celebrate one of the most fun sporting hatchbacks from the […]

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