|
History of Austin Motor Cars / Automobiles |
|
|
- The Austin Motor Company was founded in 1905 by Herbert Austin, becoming a private limited company in 1908.
- In 1906 the company produced a large 5 litre family sized model, the first of about 8 different models that were produced in this first decade. In its first year the company produced 23 cars.
- By 1917 the company’s factory at Longbridge was the largest of its type in Great Britain
- The first model introduced after the end of World War 1 was the Austin 20 in 1919. In 1922 a scaled down version, the Austin 12, was produced.
- Another model introduced in 1922 was the Austin 7, which remained in production until 1939 by which time over 375,000 had been made. It was also being built in Germany, U.S.A and France.
- In the early 1930s it was the most popular car in the world. The car had a 747 cc engine and a top speed of 42 mph (67 kph).
- The first cars produced after World War 2 were based on pre-war designs. These were the Austin 8, 10, 12 & 16 models.
- The 1,200 cc Austin A40 was the company’s first post war designed car and was produced between 1947 and 1951.
- By 1952 Austin had produced some 28 different models since it started production in 1906 and two million cars.
- In 1952 the company merged with Morris Motors to form the British Motor Corporation (which was taken over in 1968 and renamed the British Leyland Motor Company).
- Whilst part of British Leyland the Austin-Healey 100 (1953-56), Sprite (1958-70) and 3000 (1959-67) sports cars were manufactured.
- In 1959 the Austin Mini was introduced and 5,387,862 were produced by the year 2000.
- These cars had an 848 or 1,275 cc 4-cylinder transverse engine and a top speed of 72 or 96 mph (115/154 kph), dependent on which engine was fitted.
- Between 1952 and 1989, when the last car to carry the Austin name was built, about 14 new models were introduced, including the Austin A30, A40, A60 Cambridge, 1100/1300, 1800, Maxi, Allegro and Metro.
|
