Wolseley Motors

Wolseley Motors

Wolseley Motors

Industry	Automotive
Fate	Merged
Successor	British Motor Corporation
Founded	1901
Defunct	1975
Headquarters	Birmingham, England
Key people	Thomas and Albert Vickers Herbert Austin J D Siddeley A J McCormack W R Morris

Wolseley Marque

Product type	Automotive marque
Owner	SAIC Motor
Discontinued	1987
Previous owners	Vickers, Sons and Maxim(1901–1927) W R Morris (1927–1935) Morris Motors Limited (1935–1952) BMC (1952–1967) British Leyland (1967–1986) Rover Group (1986–1988) BAe (1988–1994) BMW (1994–2000) MG Rover (2000–2005) NAC (2005–2007)

Wolseley Motors Limited owned a British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in early 1901 by the Vickers armaments combine in conjunction with Herbert Austin. It initially made a full range topped by large luxury cars and dominated the market in the Edwardian era. The Vickers brothers died and without their guidance Wolseley expanded rapidly after the war, manufacturing 12,000 cars in 1921, and remained the biggest motor manufacturer in Britain.

Over-expansion led to receivership in 1927 when it was bought from Vickers Limited by William Morris as a personal investment and years later moved into his Morris Motors empire just before the Second World War. After that its products were “badge-engineered” Morris cars. Wolseley went with its sister businesses into BMC, BMH and British Leyland, where its name lapsed in 1975.

Founding 1901

Herbert Austin (1866–1941) in 1905

Colonel Thomas Vickers (1833–1915)

Sir Hiram Maxim (1840–1916) caricature by Spy for Vanity Fair, 1904

Colonial tourer 1912

The Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company Limited

Hiram Maxim, inventor of the machine gun that bears his name and by then a member of the combine Vickers Sons & Maxim, had consulted Herbert Austin at Wolseley in the late 1890s a number of times in relation to the design of flying machines, which he was developing and constructing. Maxim made use of a number of suggestions made by Austin in Maxim’s activities at his works in Crayford, Kent. Once the sheep-shearing company had decided they would not pursue their automobile interest an approach was made and agreement quickly reached.

The Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company of Adderley Park Birmingham was incorporated in March 1901 with a capital of £40,000 by Vickers, Sons and Maxim to manufacture motor cars and machine tools. The managing director was Herbert Austin. The cars and the Wolseley name came from Austin’s exploratory venture for The Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company Limited, run since the early 1890s by the now 33-year-old Austin. Wolseley’s board had decided not to enter the business and Maxim and the Vickers brothers picked it up. After his five-year contract with The Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company ended Austin founded The Austin Motor Company Limited.

Austin’s Wolseley cars

 10hp 2-cylinder tonneau 1903

 20hp shooting brake 1903

Austin had been searching for other products for WSSMC because sale of sheep-shearing machinery was a highly seasonal trade. About 1895–96 he became interested in engines and automobiles. During the winter of 1895–96, working in his own time at nights and weekends, he made his own version of a design by Léon Bollée that he had seen in Paris. Later he found that another British group had bought the rights and he had to come up with a design of his own, having persuaded the directors of WSSMC to invest in the necessary machinery.

In 1897 Austin’s second Wolseley car,

the Wolseley Autocar No. 1 was revealed. It was a three-wheeled design (one front, two rear) featuring independent rear suspension, mid-engine and back to back seating for two adults. It was not successful and although advertised for sale, none were sold.

The third Wolseley car, the four-wheeled Wolseley “Voiturette” followed in 1899. A further four-wheeled car was made in 1900.

The 1901 Wolseley Gasoline Carriage featured a steering wheel instead of a tiller. The first Wolseley cars sold to the public were based on the “Voiturette”, but production did not get underway until 1901, by which time the board of WSSMC had lost interest in the nascent motor industry.

Thomas and Albert Vickers, directors of Vickers and Maxim Britain’s largest armaments manufacturer had much earlier decided to enter the industry at the right moment and impressed by Austin’s achievements at WSSMC they took on his enterprise. When Austin’s five-year contract officially ended in 1906 they had made more than 1,500 cars, Wolseley was the largest British motor manufacturer and Austin’s reputation was made.

The company had been formed in March 1901. By 1 May 1901 Austin had issued his first catalogue. There were to be two models, 5 hp and 10 hp. They were both available with either a Tonneau or a Phaeton body with either pneumatic or solid tyres. For an additional outlay of thirty shillings (£1.50) the 10 hp model would be fitted with a sprag to prevent it running backwards. “We recommend pneumatic tyres for all cars required to run over twenty miles an hour. Austin then provided a paragraph as to why his horizontal engines were better lubricated (than vertical engines) and that 750 rpm, the speed of his Wolseley engines, avoided the short life of competing engines that ran between 1,000 and 2,000 rpm.”

The association with Vickers not only helped in general design but in the speed of production and provision of special steels

The Wolseley range from 1901 to 1905.

8hp 2-cylinder tonneau 1904

Engines were horizontal which kept the centre of gravity low. Cylinders were cast individually and arranged either singly, in a pair or in two pairs which were horizontally opposed. The crankshaft lay across the car allowing a simple belt or chain-drive to the rear axle:

1902 The 5hp MC-Wolseley

1904 Wolseley 6hp Light Car, 5 hp, 6 hp from 1904

1903 Wolseley 7,5hp tonneau AC-Wols

1904 Wolseley 8 hp tonneau, 7½ hp, 8 hp from 1904

1902 Wolseley 10 hp tonneau WTC

1910 Wolseley 12hp-16 Town Car. 2,226 cc, 10 hp, 12 hp from 1904

1912 Wolseley 16-20hp Landaulette

from 1904 16 hp

1903 Wolseley 20hp tonneau 6seats reliable hill-climbing

1904 Wolseley 2 cyl 20hp shooting brake London to Brighton

20 hp, 24 hp from 1904

 

in 1904 Queen Alexandra bought a 5.2-litre 24 hp landaulette with coil ignition, a four-speed gearbox and chain drive.

Siddeley

Name plate: Vickers, Sons & Maxim
Wolseley Siddeley

2.6 litre 14 hp rotund phaeton (tourer) 1908

Austin’s resolute refusal to countenance new vertical engines for his Wolseleys, whatever his directors might wish, led to Austin handing in his resignation the year before his contract ended. Curiously in his new Austin enterprise all the engines proved vertical but there he had to suffer a new financial master. Vickers replaced Austin by promoting Wolseley’s London sales manager, John Davenport Siddeley to general manager. As Austin was aware Vickers had earlier built, in association with Siddeley, Siddeley’s vertical-engined cars at their Crayford Kent factory. The new Siddeley cars began to overtake Wolseley’s sales of “old-fashioned” horizontal-engined cars. In early 1905 they hired Siddeley for their London sales manager and purchased the goodwill and patent rights of his Siddeley car.

8.6-litre 40–50 hp limousine

for the Earl of Leicester 1909

Siddeley, on his appointment to Austin’s former position, promptly replaced Austin’s horizontal engines with the now conventional upright engines. With him he brought his associate Lionel de Rothschild as a member of the Wolseley board. Together they gave the business a new lease of life. At the November 1905 Olympia Motor Show, the first at the former National Agricultural Hall, two small 6 hp and 8 hp cars were still exhibited with horizontal engines but there were also Siddeley’s new 15, 18 and 32 hp cars with vertical engines. This switch to vertical engines brought Wolseley a great deal of publicity and their products soon lost their old-fashioned image.

However a tendency then arose for journalists to follow the company’s full-page display advertising and drop the first word in Wolseley Siddeley — “Siddeley Autocars made by (in smaller typeface) the Wolseley Tool . . .”  Certainly it was true the new engines were named Siddeley engines. Meanwhile, under Siddeley Wolseley maintained the sales lead left to him by Austin but, now run from London not (Austin’s base) Birmingham, the whole business failed to cover overheads. A board member, Walter Chetwynd, was set to find a solution. It was decided the business operated from too many different locations. First the board closed the Crayford Kent works, moving the whole operation back to Birmingham and dropping production of commercial vehicles and taxicabs – a large number of which, 500+, were made during Siddeley’s time including an early 10 hp taxicab made in 1908 sold to a Mr W R Morris of Holywell St. Oxford who ran a garage there and hire car business as well as making bicycles. Then the London head office followed. After some heated discussions Siddeley resigned in the spring of 1909 and Rothschild went too. Ernest Hopwood was appointed managing director in August 1909. Siddeley was to go on to manage the Deasy Motor Company and a notable commercial career.

Wolsit racer 1907

Wolseley Italy or Wolsit

Wolsit Officine Legnanesi Autmobili was incorporated in 1907 by Macchi Brothers and the Bank of Legnano to build Wolseley cars under licence in Legnano, about 18 kilometres north-west of central Milan. A similar enterprise, Fial, had started there a year earlier but failed in 1908. Wolsit automobile production ended in 1909, the business continued but made luxury bicycles. Emilio Bozzi made the Ciclomotore Wolsit from 1910 to 1914. A team of Wolsit cars competed in motoring events in 1907.

The Wolseley range in 1909:

12/16 hp

16/20 hp

20/24 hp

24/30 hp

 

Stellite, a separate low-priced range designed by Wolseley 1914

30/34 hp

40 hp

40/50 hp

60 hp

After 1911 the name on the cars was again just Wolseley.

Chetwynd’s recommendations soon lead to a revival in profits and a rapid expansion of Wolseley’s business. The Adderley Park factory was greatly extended in 1912. These extensions were opened in 1914 but there was not sufficient space for the new Stellite model which was instead produced and marketed by another Vickers subsidiary, Electric and Ordnance Accessories Company Limited.

Machine tools, buses, rail engines etc

Wolseley was not then as specialised in its operations as members of the motor industry were to become. For other members of the Vickers group they were general engineers and they also handled engineering enquiries directed on to them by other group members. Wolseley built double-decker buses for the Birmingham Corporation. They also built many specials such as electric lighting sets and motor boat engines – catalogued sizes were from 12 hp to 250 hp with up to twelve cylinders and complete with gearboxes. Fire engines too and special War Office vehicles being a subsidiary of a major armaments firm. As befits a company with tool in its name they built machine tools including turret lathes and horizontal borers though chiefly for their own use or for group members. Very large engines were made to power railcars, those made for the Delaware and Hudson railroad powered a petrol-electric system.

Marine and aero-engines

HMA No. 1 Mayfly at her mooring, Barrow-in-Furness September 1911

While at first Wolseley supplied engines for launches, made for them by Teddington Launch Works, they moved on to small river craft and light coasting boats. The demand for engines for larger vessels grew. It was not uncommon for orders to be booked for 70-foot (21 m) yachts, racing launches and ferry boats to carry fifty or more passengers. These were manufactured by S E Saunders Limited at Cowes, Isle of Wight. Special engines were made for lifeboats. In 1906 horizontal engines of sixteen cylinders were designed and constructed for British submarines. They were designed to run at a low speed. High efficiency V8 engines were made for hydroplanes as well as straight eights to run on petrol or paraffin. Weight was very important and these engines were of advanced design. The airship Mayfly was fitted with Wolseley engines.

A Ferdinand de Baeder (1865–1944), Belgian holder of Aviator’s certificate No. 107, won Prix des Pilots, Prix des Arts et Metiers, Coupe Archdeacon, Prix Capitaine Berger at Châlons-en-Champagne in his Wolseley-engined Voisin biplane on 30 December 1909. By the summer of 1910 Wolseley were able to supply the following specially designed water-cooled aero-engines:

60 hp V8 aero-engine 1910

30 hp 4-cylinder, bore and stroke: 3¾ x 5½ inches, displacement 5.85 litres

60 hp V8-cylinder, bore and stroke: 3¾ x 5½ inches, displacement 11.7 litres.

They were soon followed by a 120 hp version

• 16-20 hp 1912
• 24-30 Colonial model 1912
• Antarctic November 1911
• 

  1905 360 hp 12-cylinder marine engine

Caterpillar tracked tractors were designed and supplied to Robert Falcon Scott for his ill-fated second expedition to the Antarctic. Orders were also received for use by the Deutsche Antarktische Expedition.

In 1914 Russian lawyer Count Peter Schilowsky was supplied with a two-wheeled gyroscopically balanced car for use on narrow tracks in wartime.

Wolseley 120 hp V8 aero engine 1910

• 

  Schilowsky’s gyrocar

1924 1½-ton lorry

Commercial vehicles

From 1912 lorries and other commercial vehicles were supplied. Until the outbreak of war in 1914 Wolseley offered six types of commercial vehicle from 12 cwt delivery van to a five-ton lorry with a 40 hp engine.

Wolseley Motors Limited 1914

By 1913 Wolseley was Britain’s largest car manufacturer selling 3,000 cars. The company was renamed Wolseley Motors Limited in 1914.
It also began operations in Montreal and Toronto as Wolseley Motors Limited. This became British and American Motors after the First World War. In January 1914 the chairman, Sir Vincent Caillard, told shareholders they owned probably the largest motor-car producing company in the country and that its factory floor space now exceeded 17 acres.

First World War

Wolseley ambulance of

“The Madonnas of Pervyse”

Former Wolseley works, Ward End

Entering wartime as Britain’s largest car manufacturer Wolseley initially contracted to provide cars for staff officers and ambulances. Government soon indicated their plant might be better used for supplies more urgently needed. Postwar the chairman, Sir Vincent Caillard, was able to report Wolseley had provided, quantities are approximate:

3,600 motorcars and lorries including the equivalent in spare parts

4,900 aeronautical engines including the equivalent in spare parts

760 aeroplanes

600 sets aeroplane spare wings and tailplanes

6,000 airscrews of various types

Director firing gear for 27 battleships, 56 cruisers and 160 flotilla leaders and destroyers

1,200 naval gun mountings and sights

10 transmission mechanisms for rigid airships

2,650,000 18-pounder shells

300,000 Stokes’s bombs

Aero engines produced in wartime included:

Renault eight and twelve-cylinder Vee-type

“Maybach” six-cylinder water-cooled 180 hp developed from a Maybach Zeppelin engine

The Dragonfly nine-cylinder air-cooled radial

Boucier fourteen-cylinder air-cooled radial

Hispano designed V8 known as the Viper. By 1918 sixty of these engine were being produced each week

Airship engines for the British Admiralty

The Scottish Horse Mounted Brigade‘s Field Ambulance developed an operating car, designed by Colonel H. Wade in 1914, which enclosed an operating table, sterilisers, full kit of instruments and surgical equipment, wire netting, rope, axes and electric lighting in a Wolseley car chassis. This operating car was employed during the Gallipoli Campaign at Suvla, in the Libyan Desert (during the Senussi Campaign) and at Kantara in Egypt, before being attached to the Desert Mounted Corps Operating Unit in 1917. Subsequently, taking part in the Southern Palestine Offensive, which culminated in the Capture of Jerusalem.

In 1918, Wolseley began a joint venture in Tokyo, with Ishikawajiama Ship Building and Engineering. The first Japanese-built Wolseley car rolled off the line in 1922. After World War II the Japan venture was reorganized, renaming itself Isuzu Motors in 1949.

Postwar expansion and collapse

Wolseley Ten 1923

postwar Stellite

Fifteen tourer 1923

16–45 2-litre six-cylinder 6-light saloon admired by W R Morris

Thomas Vickers died in 1915, and Albert Vickers in 1919, both having reached their eighties. During the war, Wolseley’s manufacturing capacity had rapidly developed and expanded. Immediately postwar, the Vickers directors decided to manufacture cars in large quantities at relatively cheap prices. Demand was good. They would borrow money, purchase the whole Ward End site and further expand Wolseley’s works. Vickers also decided to consolidate their motor car interests in one company. Wolseley accordingly purchased from within the Vickers group: Electric and Ordnance Accessories Company Limited, the Motor-Car (Stellite Car) Ordnance Department and the Timken Bearing Department and announced Wolseley’s future car programme would be:

1. 10 hp four-cylinder two or three-seater touring car based on the Wolseley designed Stellite car

2. 15 hp four-cylinder four-seater touring car

3. 20 hp six-cylinder chassis to be fitted with a variety of the best types of carriage work

Examples of all these models were exhibited at the Olympia Show in November 1919. The design of the 10 hp and 15 hp engines closely followed their wartime Hispano aero engine using an overhead camshaft. The public considered the 15 hp was too innovative and a new “14 hp” car using the same engine was hastily created to fill the gap.

Debenture stock certificate issued 6 May 1922 Wolseley Motors Ltd

Wolseley duly took over the Ward End, Birmingham munitions factory from Vickers in 1919 and purchased a site for a new showroom and offices in London’s Piccadilly by the Ritz Hotel. Over £250,000 was spent on the magnificent new building, Wolseley House. This was more than double their profits for 1919, when rewarding government contracts were still running. Those contracts ended. The government then brought in a special tax on “excess wartime profits”. There was a moulders’ strike from December 1919 to April 1920, but in spite of that it was decided to continue the manufacture of other parts. Then a short, sharp general trade slump peaked in July 1920 and almost every order Wolseley had on its books was cancelled. In 1920 Wolseley had reported a loss of £83,000. The following years showed even greater losses. Next, in October 1922, W R Morris startled the whole motor industry by a substantial reduction in the price of his cars. In 1924, Wolseley’s annual loss would reach £364,000.

Ernest Hopwood had been appointed Managing Director in August 1909 following Siddeley’s departure. He had resigned late in 1919 due to ill-health. A J McCormack who had been joint MD with Hopwood since 1911 resigned in November 1923 and was replaced by a committee of management. Then, at the end of October 1926, it was disclosed the company was bankrupt “to the tune of £2 million” and Sir Gilbert Garnsey and T W Horton had been appointed joint receivers and managers. It was described as “one of the most spectacular failures in the early history of the motor industry”.

Morris

W R Morris

Main article: William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield

Hornet 1¼-litre open 2-seater 1931

initially a 6-cylinder development of Wolseley’s design for the Morris Minor

Wasp 1069 cc 1935

21–60 2.7-litre landaulette 1933

When Wolseley was auctioned by the receivers in February 1927 it was purchased by William Morris, later Viscount Nuffield for £730,000 using his own money. Possibly Morris acted to stop General Motors who subsequently bought Vauxhall.

Other bidders beside General Motors included the Austin Motor Company. Herbert Austin, Wolseley’s founder, was said to have been very distressed that he was unable to buy it. Morris had bought an early taxicab; another Wolseley link with Morris was that his Morris Garages were Wolseley agents in Oxford.

Morris had unsuccessfully tried to produce a 6-cylinder car. He still wanted his range to include a light six-cylinder car. Wolseley’s 2-litre six-cylinder 16–45, their latest development of their postwar Fifteen, “made a deep impression on him”.

Morris incorporated a new company, Wolseley Motors (1927) Limited, he was later permitted to remove the (1927), and consolidated its production at the sprawling Ward End Works in Birmingham. He sold off large unwanted portions of Wolseley’s Adderley Park plant with all his own Soho, Birmingham works and moved Morris Commercial Cars from Soho to the remainder of Adderley Park.

In 1919 Vickers had decided Wolseley should build relatively cheap cars in large quantity – as it turned out – not the right policy. Morris changed this policy before the Wolseley brand might have lost all its luxury reputation. After lengthy deliberation and re-tooling of the works he kept the 2-litre six-cylinder 16–45 Silent Six and introduced a four-cylinder version calling it 12–32. Then an eight-cylinder car was brought to market named 21–60. In September 1928 a six-cylinder 21–60 was announced primarily aimed at the export market and named Wolseley Messenger there. It remained in production until 1935. The Messenger was noted for its robust construction. A very deep section frame reached the full width of the body – incidentally providing the sill between running boards and body. The body itself was all-steel and its prototype was first in UK to have its whole side pressed in one.

Wolseley’s postwar engines were all of the single overhead-camshaft type, the camshaft driven by a vertical shaft from the crankshaft. The eight-cylinder 21–60 held the vertical shaft in the centre of the engine, and both crankshaft and camshaft were divided at their midpoints. Their smallest engine of 847cc was designed and made for Morris’s new Minor at Ward End with the camshaft drive’s shaft the spindle of the dynamo driven by spiral bevel gears. But it was relatively expensive to build and inclined to oil leaks, so its design was modified to a conventional side-valve layout by Morris Engines, which was put into production just for Morris cars in 1932. Meanwhile, Wolseley expanded their original design from four to six cylinders. That six-cylinder single OHC engine announced in September 1930 powered the Wolseley Hornet and several famous MG models. This tiny 6-cylinder SOHC engine eventually was made in three different sizes and its camshaft drive continued to evolve from the dynamo’s spindle to, in the end, an automatically tensioned single roller chain.

Morris Motors Limited

Main article: Morris Motors

Morris transferred his personal ownership of Wolseley to Morris Motors Limited as of 1 July 1935 and shortly all Wolseley models were badge-engineered Morris designs.

10 1140 cc saloon 1939
(Morris Ten)

18 2¼-litre 4-door Saloon 1937
(Morris Eighteen)

25 3½-litre saloon 1938
(Morris Twenty-Five)

Wolseley joined Morris, MG and later Riley/Autovia in the Morris Organisation later promoted as the Nuffield Organisation

Post WWII

14–56 police car

registered March 1937
a Morris Fourteen Six in police uniform

After the war Wolseley left Adderley Park, Morris and Wolseley production was consolidated at Cowley. The first post-war Wolseleys, the similar 4/50 and 6/80 models used overhead camshaft Wolseley engines, were otherwise based on the Morris Oxford MO and Morris Six MS but given the traditional Wolseley radiator grille. The Wolseley 6/80 was the flagship of the company and incorporated the best styling and features. The Wolseley engine of the 6/80 was also superior to the Morris delivering a higher BHP. The car was well balanced and demonstrated excellent road holding for its time. The British police used these as their squad cars well into the late sixties.

BMC

Main article: British Motor Corporation

Following the merger of Austin and Morris that created the British Motor Corporation (BMC), Wolseleys shared with MG and Riley common bodies and chassis, namely the 4/44 (later 15/50) and 6/90, which were closely related to the MG Magnette ZA/ZB and the Riley Pathfinder/Two-point-Six respectively.

In 1957 the Wolseley 1500 was based on the planned successor to the Morris Minor, sharing a bodyshell with the Riley One-Point-Five. The next year, the Wolseley 15/60 debuted the new mid-sized BMC saloon design penned by Pinin Farina. It was followed by similar vehicles from five marques within the year.

The Wolseley Hornet was based on the Austin and Morris Mini with a booted body style which was shared with Riley as the Elf. The 1500 was replaced with the Wolseley 1100 (BMC ADO16) in 1965, which became the Wolseley 1300 two years later. Finally, a version of the Austin 1800 was launched in 1967 as the Wolseley 18/85.

British Leyland

Main article: British Leyland

After the merger of BMC and Leyland to form British Leyland in 1969 the Riley marque, long overlapping with Wolseley, was retired. Wolseley continued in diminished form with the Wolseley Six of 1972, a variant of the Austin 2200, a six-cylinder version of the Austin 1800. It was finally killed off just three years later in favour of the Wolseley variant of the wedge-shaped 18–22 series saloon, which was never even given an individual model name, being badged just “Wolseley”, and sold only for seven months until that range was renamed as the Princess. This change thus spelled the end of the Wolseley marque after 74 years.

As of 2012 the Wolseley marque is owned by SAIC Motor, having been acquired by its subsidiary Nanjing Automobile following the break-up of the MG Rover Group. The Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machinery Company continued trading and is now Wolseley plc.

List of Wolseley vehicles

Main article: List of Wolseley automobiles

List of 1920s and 1930s Wolseley vehicles

Six open 2-seater 1904

12/16 limousine 1910

21/60 saloon 1934

Hornet Special open 2-seater 1933

Four-cylinder

1919–1923 Wolseley Seven

1919–1924 Wolseley Ten

1919–1924 Wolseley Fifteen

1922–1924 Wolseley Fourteen

1924–1928 Wolseley 11/22

1924–1927 Wolseley 16/35

1929–1930 Wolseley 12/32

1934–1935 Wolseley Nine

1935–1936 Wolseley Wasp

1936–1937 Wolseley 10/40

1936–1939 Wolseley 12/48

1939-1939 Wolseley Ten

Six-cylinder

1919–1924 Wolseley Twenty

1922–1924 Wolseley 24/30

1924–1927 Wolseley 24/55

1932 Wolseley Hornet 4-door saloon Wolseley Hornet six

1930–1936 Wolseley Hornet six OHC

1927–1931 Wolseley 16/45

1931–1932 Wolseley Viper (car)

Wolseley-vintage-12-32 1928–1930 Wolseley 12/32

1933–1935 Wolseley County

1933–1935 Wolseley Sixteen

1935–1936 Wolseley Fourteen

1935-1935 Wolseley Eighteen

1936–1938 Wolseley 14/56

1937–1938 Wolseley 18/80

1935–1937 Wolseley Super Six 16HP, 21HP, 25HP

1938–1941 Wolseley 14/60

1938–1941 Wolseley 16/65

1938–1941 Wolseley 18/85 (also produced in 1944, for the military)

1937–1940 Wolseley 16HP, 21HP, 25HP

Eight-cylinder

1928–1931 Wolseley 21/60 Straight Eight Overhead Cam 2700cc (536 produced)

1929–1930 Wolseley 32/80 Straight Eight Overhead Cam 4020cc (chassis only)

List of post-Second World War Wolseley vehicles

Wolseley often used a two-number system of model names. Until 1948, the first number was engine size in units of taxable horsepower as defined by the Royal Automobile Club. Thus, the 14/60 was rated at 14 hp (RAC) for tax purposes but actually produced 60 hp (45 kW). Later, the first number equalled the number of cylinders. After 1956, this number was changed to reflect the engine’s displacement for four-cylinder cars. Therefore, the seminal 15/60 was a 1.5-litre engine capable of producing 60 hp (45 kW). Eventually, the entire naming system was abandoned.

Four-cylinder

The 1961–69 Wolseley Hornet was based on the Mini.

Wolseley Six (BMC ADO17)

 Wolseley (18–22 series)

1939–1948 Wolseley Ten (Morris Ten)

1937–1948 Wolseley 12/48 (Post war version was the Series III)

Wolseley

1946–1948 Wolseley Eight similar to Morris Eight Series E

1947–1955 Nuffield Oxford Taxi (Morris Commercial design)

1948–1953  4/50 similar to Morris Oxford MO

1952–1956 Wolseley 4/44

1956–1958 Wolseley 15/50

(MG Magnette ZB)

1957–1965 Wolseley 1500 (similar to Riley One-Point-Five, based on Morris Minor)

1958–1961 Wolseley 15/60 (Austin A55 (Mark 2) Cambridge)

1961–1969 Wolseley Hornet (similar to Riley Elf, based on Mini)

1961–1971 Wolseley 16/60 (Austin A60 Cambridge)

1965–1974 Wolseley 1100/1300 (BMC ADO16)

1967–1971 Wolseley 18/85 (BMC ADO17)

Vanden Plas Princess 1100 four-door saloon

1968–???? Wolseley 11/55 (South African variant of BMC ADO16) 

Six-cylinder

1939 Wolseley 14-60 Series III 6-light saloon

1938–1948 Wolseley 14/60 (Post war version was the Series III)

1938–1948 Wolseley 18/85 (Post war version was the Series III)

Wolseley 25 Series III. The Wolseley Series III 25 was launched in 1938 mechanically very much as the Series II model (and therefore as the Morris 25). The Steel body was the new feature for the Series III and differed from Morris equivalents.

1938–1948 Wolseley 25 (Post war version was the Series III)

1948–1954 Wolseley 6/80 (Morris Six)

1954–1959 Wolseley 6/90 (Riley Pathfinder/Riley Two-Point-Six)

1959–1961 Wolseley 6/99 (Austin A99 Westminster)

1961–1968 Wolseley 6/110 (Austin A110 Westminster)

1962–1965 Wolseley 24/80 (Australian version of 15/60 and 16/60, but six-cylinder; similar to Austin Freeway)

1972–1975 Wolseley Six (BMC ADO17)

March–October 1975 Wolseley saloon (18–22 series)Also produced (dates to be confirmed):

Wolseley 16/60 Wolseley 4/60 (Dutch version of 16/60)

Wolseley 300 (Danish version of 6/99 and 6/110)

Aero engines

Wolseley also produced a number of aircraft engine designs, although there were no major design wins.

Wolseley 1908 30 hp 4-cyl.

Wolseley 1909 50 hp V-8 air-cooled

Wolseley 1909 54 hp V-8 water-cooled 3.74″ x 5.00″

Wolseley 1911 Type B 80 hp V-8

Wolseley 1911 Type C 60 hp V-8

Wolseley 1912 160hp V-8

Wolseley A.R.7 Aquarius I

Wolseley A.R.9 Aries III

Wolseley W.4A Python

Wolseley W.4A Viper

Wolseley W.4B Adder

Wolseley Leo

Wolseley Libra

Wolseley Scorpio

Wolseley Aero Engines Ltd. was a subsidiary formed around 1931 to design aero engines. When Wolseley Motors Limited was transferred to Morris Motors Limited on 1 July 1935 this part of its business was set aside by W. R. Morris (Lord Nuffield) and put in the ownership of a newly incorporated company, Wolseley Aero Engines Ltd, and remained his personal property. By 1942 the name of that company had become Nuffield Mechanizations Limited.

They were developing an advanced Wolseley radial aero engine of about 250 horsepower, but the project was abandoned in September 1936 when W. R. Morris got the fixed price I.T.P. (Intention to Proceed) contract papers (which would have required an army of chartered accountants) and decided to deal only with the War Office and Admiralty, not the Air Ministry (see Airspeed).

Pictures from my collection, collected from the World Wide Web:

L0000762 Wolseley autocars, advertisment, 1913.
Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images
images@wellcome.ac.uk
http://wellcomeimages.org
Wolseley autocars, advertisment, 1913.
British Medical Journal
Published: 4th January 1913
Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Wolseley Fourteen. Sold in 1935 and 1936

Woldeley Wasp (1935)

Wolseley 10/40 Series II. Soild from 1936-37, the Wolseley 10/40 Series II borrowed heavily from the Morris 10/4 Series II, sharing the same 1292cc ohv 4cylinder engine (which was also shared with the MG TA.

Wolseley 8 (1947)

Wolseley

Wolseley 4/50. Launched at the 1948 Motor Show as a variant of the Morris Oxford MO, the Wolseley 4/50 used a 4-cylinder 1476cc version of its sibling’s 6-cylinder ohc engine

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Wolseley 4/50. Walnut and leather inside gave the Wolseley 4/50 an upmarket feel over its Morris Oxford MO sibling.

Wolseley 16/60

The big Wolseley 6/110 became the 6/110 Mk II in May 1964 and, like the Austin equivalent, was the best of the three derivatives of this model range. The mechanical changes made to upgrade the Wolseley – of which the most important wre the fitment of a new four-speed manual transmission and the rejigging of the suspension settings – were identical to those made for the Austin, but no exterior styling changes. For eagle-eyed observers, the use of smaller-diameter (13in) road wheels gave the game away, and there was also a distinctive boot-lid badge.

Wolseley 18/85 Series III Police car. The 18/85 was a fast car and was liked by Police forces, as was its successor the Wolseley 6/80.

Wolseley 25 Series III. The Wolseley Series III 25 was launched in 1938 mechanically very much as the Series II model (and therefore as the Morris 25). The Steel body was the new feature for the Series III and differed from Morris equivalents.

Wolseley Hornet Special 1934 – badge

1931 Wolseley Hornet Tourer RHD

See also

• Arthur John McCormack
• Wolseley Racing
• The Wolseley restaurant in the ground floor showrooms of Wolseley House, 160 Piccadilly, London
• List of aircraft engine manufacturers
• List of car manufacturers of the United Kingdom

Notes

1. Jump up^ in 1914 and 1919 respectively
2. Jump up^ “The Wolseley Tool and Motor-Car Company Limited has absorbed the Siddeley Autocar Company Limited and has acquired Niagara Westminster for premises for a London office and garage. The two companies have long been associated, the Siddeley cars being made by the Wolseley company. The London Motor Omnibus Company has placed an order for 25 Wolseley omnibuses each with a seating capacity for 34 passengers.” The Times, Monday, 13 Feb 1905; pg. 9; Issue 3762

References

1. Jump up^ Vickers Sons And Maxim Limited. The Times, Wednesday, Nov 17, 1897; pg. 4; Issue 35363
2. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r} St John C Nixon. Wolseley, a saga of the Motor Industry, G T Foulis & Co, London, 1949
3. Jump up^ Baker, John. “Herbert Austin”. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
4. Jump up^ “The Wolseley Gasoline Carriage”. The Horseless Age. 8 (27): 562. 2 October 1901. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
5. ^ Jump up to:^a b c RAC Rating
6. ^ Jump up to:^a b c Bill Smith, Armstrong Siddeley Motors Dorchester, Veloce, 2006; p.55; ISBN 9781904788362
7. Jump up^ “City Notes”. The Times (44569). 30 April 1927. p. 18.
8. Jump up^ “Siddeley Autocar”. The Times (38805). 16 November 1908. p. 4.
9. ^ Jump up to:^a b Baldwin, Nick “The Wolseley”, Shire, Princes Risborough UK, 1995. ISBN 0-7478-0297-1
10. Jump up^ Paolo Ferrari (ed.), L’aeronautica italiana: una storia del Novecento, FrancoAngeli Storia, Milan, 2004
11. Jump up^ Flight magazine 8 January 1910
12. Jump up^ The Rise and Decline of the British Motor Industry By Roy A. Church, Economic History Society, 1994
13. ^ Jump up to:^a b “Wolseley Motors (Limited). Meeting of Debenture Holders”. The Times (42236). 21 October 1919. p. 23.
14. Jump up^ R. M. Downes, The Campaign in Sinai and Palestine 1938, in A. G. Butler’s Gallipoli, Palestine and New Guinea of Official History of the Australian Army Medical Services, 1914–1918 Part II in Volume 1 (Australian War Memorial: Canberra pp. 636–7
15. ^ Jump up to:^a b “Wolseley Motors”. The Times (44389). 29 September 1926. p. 20.
16. Jump up^ James Leasor Wheels to Fortune, Stratus, Cornwall UK 2001. ISBN 0-7551-0047-6
17. Jump up^ “Wolseley House Sold. Purchase by Barclays Bank”. The Times(44294). 10 June 1926. p. 16.
18. Jump up^ “City Notes”. The Times (44416). 30 October 1926. p. 18.
19. Jump up^ Georgano, N. (2000). Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. London: HMSO. ISBN 1-57958-293-1.
20. Jump up^ “Wolseley And M.G. Companies”. The Times (47090). 14 June 1935. p. 20.
21. Jump up^ Timeline 1968, www.ado16.info Retrieved on 26 September 2013

• Lambert, Z.E. and Wyatt, R.J, (1968). Lord Austin – The Man. Altrincham: Sidgwick and Jackson.
• Bird, Anthony, (undated but probably 1966) The Horizontal Engined Wolseleys, 1900–1905. London: Profile Publications Ltd.

• Wolseley Super-Six brochure 1935 from the Bodleian Library

AUSTIN Car pictures, videos and ads. II

Austin Motor Company, Longbridge, England, UK, 1905-1952

Austin-ADO-BMC-Hillman-Hudson-Humber-Innocenti-Leyland-MG-Morris-Princess-Riley-Rosengart-Rover-Sunbeam-Vanden Plas-Wolseley

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NCA001000430_001, 15-08-2007, 10:52, 8C, 7926×4014 (0+4), 100%, NCAD, 1/80 s, R42.6, G11.4, B8.9

Fifty years of caring for the capital
London Ambulance Service is 50 years old today (Wednesday 1 April) and will be celebrating with ‘ambulance drivers’ from the sixties meeting 21st century paramedics in old and new vehicles.
Fifty years ago suited ‘ambulance drivers’ picked up patients and took them straight to hospital but today, highly skilled clinicians, many with paramedic science degrees, diagnose and treat patients at the scene of incidents.
Chief Executive Dr Fionna Moore said: “Back in the old days we used to ‘scoop and run’ patients straight to hospital. There was just a stretcher, a splint and breathing apparatus in the back of an ambulance and staff had eight weeks training.
“In contrast, today, we have a wide range of frontline staff, from emergency ambulance crew, through to advanced and consultant paramedics and have a paramedic at director-level on our Trust Board. Increasingly, our paramedics have a three-year paramedic science degree. They carry up to 30 different drugs and make life and death decisions about the most appropriate place to take a patient for treatment. Our ambulances are now kitted out with defibrillators to restart patients’ hearts and ECG machines to detect heart attacks.”
Peter Hayman, 74, who worked for the Service from 1965 to 1994, attended the ceremony at County Hall to mark the creation of the new ambulance service. He said: “I remember we introduced an inflatable splint which we thought was revolutionary because all we really had back then was a satchel of bandages and dressings but it’s nothing compared to the kit they have on an ambulance today.”
While technology and training has transformed the Service, Fionna says one thing which hasn’t changed is the commitment of ambulance staff to the health and well-being of Londoners.
She said: “Fifty years ago the whole of the UK only had one million emergency calls for an ambulance. In London alone we now receive over 1.7m a year.
“Ambula

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KF2-2206

Leyland-Daf 400 V8 1991 Ambulance by ‘Mountain’

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NCA001000430_001, 15-08-2007, 10:52, 8C, 7926×4014 (0+4), 100%, NCAD, 1/80 s, R42.6, G11.4, B8.9

NCA001000427_006, 15-08-2007, 10:33, 8C, 7926×3654 (0+3), 100%, NCAD, 1/80 s, R42.6, G11.4, B8.9

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Austin A40 Countryman MkI. The Countryman retained the same profile as the saloon

Austin A40 mkI

Austin GP4 A40 Countryman. Launched in 1949, the A40 Countryman provided an Estate car by using the Van as a base. This model continued even after the Somerset replaced the Devon and 35,000 were sold until 1956.

Austin A50 Cambridge

Austin A55 Mk II Cambridge Countryman. The A%% MkII Countryman was not launched until 1960, and was on sale for only about one year before the A60 Countryman superseded it.

Austin A125 Limousine DM1. An extended wheelbase limousine version of the Austin sheerline was offered, but it was not a success

Austin K8 Three-Way. Known as the ‘Three-Way’ Van because it had doors at the back and on both sides, the K8 was built from 1948-54 with bodywork by Carbodies.

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Ex-John Lennon 1956 Austin Princess, A 60-year-old Austin Princess hearse with aircraft seats fitted by its previous owner JOHN LENNON is expected to fetch £250,000 at auction. See SWNS SWLENNON; The Beatles legend used the British car as his personal limousine after buying it secondhand in August 1971. Records show the car was registered in the name of John Ono Lennon to 3 Savile Row, which was the Mayfair address of The Beatles.

NCA001000431_001, 15-08-2007, 11:05, 8C, 7926×4014 (0+4), 100%, NCAD, 1/80 s, R42.6, G11.4, B8.9

Austin Seven Swallow 1931. In 1927 the Swallow Sidecar Company decided to diversify into coachbuilding and commissioned Cyril Holland to design this body for the Austin Seven Chassis, thus producing the Austin Seven Swallow.

1936-Austin 10 Lichfield

Austin 12/4 Pickup 1934. The Austin ‘Light 12/4’ had been introduced in 1933 with a 4-cylinder 1525cc engine. This replaced the older 12/4 which became known as the ‘Heavy 12/4’. Austin trucks and vans were thought to be non factory products, but Austin advertisements for goods vehicles have been found

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Austin Twelve ‘New Ascot’ 1937. In 1937 the Austin 12/4 was restyled with a cowled radiator and more rounded bodywork. Only a 4-cylinder 1525cc side valve engine was offered, the 12/6 being dropped.

JX 6282 1938 Austin 14/6 Goodwood Haworth

1957. This is when the BMC ‘B’ Series OHV engine and 4-speed gearbox were adopted and vehicles became known as ‘JB’ vans or for the badge engineered Austin alternative ‘101 vans’. Production continued until 1961 (Austin and Morris chassis numbers were not separated), with a final total of 48,620.

Austin A35 RAC Van 1967. The AV8 Austin A35 Van was available until 1968, the last versions being offered with the 848cc engine for local journeys.

Austin A40 MkII Countryman is the ‘Estate’ version of the A40, differing only from the saloon by having a lift-up rear window and drop-down bootlid.

Austin A70 Utility 1952. This pickup used the chassis-cab unit which Austin already supplied to those who wanted to build their own coachwork onto it. The Hereford-based pickup was introduced in 1951, and prior to that Austin sold the Hampshire-based pickup. In Australia they had their own version, possibly locally built, and this had a longer cab superstructure and a wraparound rear window made of two pieces of glass.

Austin A95 Six. Launched in September 1956 the A95 superceded the A90 and was given a revised body without the ‘cow hips’ boot, and with a new grille. The 2,639cc six cylinder engine was upgraded to 92bhp. 28,000 were sold until the A99 Westminster replaced it

Austin A99 Westminster. With a body designed by Carozzeria Pininfarina, the Austin A99 wrapped a monocoque body around the C-series 2912cc ohv 6-cylinder engine.

Austin A105 Westminster. The A105 had been introduced in May 1956, but in October 1956 it received the same longer boot body given to Westminsters and Cambridges.

Austin Ambassador 2.0 HL. Austin’s Ambassador was able to have a lower bonnet line because the tall E-series 2200cc engine was discontinued and the O-series engines were lower.

Austin Ambassador 1.7 L. The re-design of the Princess to make it into the 5-door Ambassador required extensive engineering. Harris Mann’s team did the work

Following a great day at Software Craftsmanship, Jason and I had a wonder around the grounds at Bletchley Park. I’d already spotted vintage cars on the internet so had already got my Tokina mounted ready for these kind of shots.
We walked up the two garages, me stopping at each car to get bracketed exposures, and this Austin Ambulance was joint favourite. I do have another car I will upload soon, but a little more post processing will be needed…

Austin FE 1957. The FE from 1955 wears the ‘Series III’ iteration of the Morris FV cab.

London Black Cab Model?

TBT 768 1957 Austin FV “Jessica”

Austin FX3 Taxi. Produced from 1948 until 1958, the FX3 sold 13700 units. FX3s were not fitted with a front nearside door, as this was used for storing luggage.

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Austin 152 Camper Van. The Austin 152 was the Austin version of the Morris J2 launched in 1956

Austin 152 Van. Introduced in 1956 the Austin 152 (and Morris J2) was a 15cwt commercial with a unitary body and a 1489cc B-series engine.

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Morris LD Van 1966. Launched in 1952 as a 1-tonne van, the LD was available as both Austin and Morris. By 1960 the LD was upgraded to LD-M20 and the 1½ton LD-30.

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Austin Mini Moke. The Mini Moke was designed by Alec Issigonis and intended for the British Army as a lightweight vehicle that could be dropped from aircraft. The military did not take to the Moke and it 1964 it was launched as a recreational vehicle to the general public.

Photographic Negative – Glass

Austin Eighteen. Available for 1938 and 1939 the Austin Eighteen had a six cylinder 2510cc engine.

Austin Ten Light Utility 1943.

Austin Ten Light Utility 1941, Often called the ‘Tilly’

Austin Ten Light Utility 1941. The Austin Ten pickup was based on the Austin Ten saloon.

Austin Ten Light Utility 1943. Powered by the Austin Ten 1230cc sidevalve engine, this Tilly was the main car production during the War years.

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Shoreham airshow airshow,

MG Magnette IV became the Magnette IV when the 1622cc engine replaced the 1500

Morris Oxford Series VI – the curvy grille of the 1622cc Farina Oxford, the series VI

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Vanden-Plas Princess 4litre Limousine. In 1960 the Austin name was dropped and Vanden-Plas became the brand. This is the 4litre DM4 model

Vanden-Plas Princess 3-litre MkII. Launched in October 1959 as the Austin Princess 3-litre, it was rebranded “Vanden-Plas” in May 1960. Underneath the skin lay Austin A99/Wolseley 6/99 mechanics put together at the Vanden-Plas Kingsbury Works.

Vanden-Plas Princess 3-litre MkII. The MkII was launched in 1961 when siblings Austin A99 and Wolseley 6/99 were upgraded to Austin A110 aqnd Wolseley 6/110. All got a 120bhp engine and handling changes

Vanden-Plas Princess 4-litre R was an amalgamation of the Princess 3-litre (Austin A110) body to the Rolls-Royce 3909cc FB60 engine. Intended to be a “mini Bentley” (Both Rolls-Royce and Bentley versions were prototyped), sales were slow. From 1964 to 1968 only 6500 were sold, but 10% of projection.

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Austin A55 Hearse. This conversion is by Woodall Nicholson.

Austin A55 Hearse. This conversion is by Woodall Nicholson.

AUSTIN Car pictures, videos and ads I

Austin Motor Company, Longbridge, England, UK, 1905-1952

Austin-ADO-BMC-Hillman-Hudson-Humber-Innocenti-Leyland-MG-Morris-Princess-Riley-Rosengart-Rover-Sunbeam-Vanden Plas-Wolseley

Editing undertaken: Unsharp Mask

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Armstrong Siddeley 30HP Landaulette advert 1921

DCF 1.0

1929 Austin Seven Van

Morris Oxford Six (1930)

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taken at Wisley Bus Rally 2010

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Sunbeam Talbot (1938)

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Austin GP4 A40 Countryman. Launched in 1949, the A40 Countryman provided an Estate car by using the Van as a base. This model continued even after the Somerset replaced the Devon and 35,000 were sold until 1956.

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NCA001000428_007, 15-08-2007, 10:43, 8C, 7926×3654 (0+3), 100%, NCAD, 1/80 s, R42.6, G11.4, B8.9

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BMC first introduced the motoring public to the “big Farina family” in 1958 with the Wolseley 15/60, a year later BMC announced less luxurious Austin and Morris versions to cater for the masses. The A55 Cambridge Mk II featured the new Farina saloon body and was powered by the trusty 1489cc B-series used in the Mk I but now with a SU carburettor, previously only found on rival Nuffield cars

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  Not all my collected pictures are fitting so I begin with part II

AUSTIN Motor Company

 Austin Motor Company, Longbridge, England, UK, 1905-1952

Austin-ADO-BMC-Hillman-Hudson-Humber-Innocenti-Leyland-MG-Morris-Princess-Riley-Rosengart-Rover-Sunbeam-Vanden Plas-Wolseley

For Austin’s American subsidiary, see American Austin Car Company. For the unrelated American Austin company 1901-1921, see Austin Automobile Company.

The Austin Motor Company Limited

Industry	Automotive
Fate	Merged, The marque is dormant and may be reused.
Successor	British Motor Corporation
Founded	1905
Defunct	1952
Headquarters	Longbridge, England
Products	Automobiles / Rover / Austin Rover / MG / Morris

Austin Marque

Official marque logo, revised by current owners SAIC.
Product type	Automotive marque
Owner	SAIC
Discontinued	1987
Previous owners	Austin Motor Company (1905–1952) BMC (1952–1967) British Leyland (Austin Rover) (1967–1986) BA Rover Group (1986–1988) Rover Group (1988–2005)

The Austin Motor Company Limited was an English manufacturer of motor vehicles, founded in 1905 by Herbert Austin. In 1952 it was merged with Morris Motors Limited in the new holding company British Motor Corporation (BMC) Limited, keeping its separate identity. The marque Austin was used until 1987. The trademark is currently owned by SAIC after being transferred from bankrupt subsidiary Nanjing Automotive which had acquired it with MG Rover Group in July 2005.

History

Herbert Austin 1905

“Mr Austin is starting new works,
where he will manufacture Austin Cars
at Longbridge, near Birmingham”

1905–1918: Formation and development

While running the original Wolseley business, which had a highly cyclical sales pattern, Herbert Austin, searched for products with a steady demand. Starting in 1895, he built three cars in his free time. They were among Britain’s first cars. The third car, a four-wheeler, was completed in 1899. By 1901 his fellow directors could not see future profit in motor vehicles and so with their blessing and the backing of the Vickers brothers Austin started a separate car manufacturing business still using the name Wolseley.

In 1905 he fell out with Thomas and Albert Vickers over engine design. Leaving his creation, Wolseley, which he had made Britain’s largest motor vehicle manufacturer, Austin obtained the backing of steel magnate Frank Kayser for his own enterprise. Kayser provided funds through mortgages and loans, debentures and guarantees to the Midland Bank thereby allowing Austin to keep virtually total ownership of his own business through his personal savings. Further assistance came from Dunlop patent holder Harvey du Cros. However, Austin’s great rival, William Morris, was able to enter the industry proper (he first repaired cars) a little later funding his operation entirely from his own resources.

In November 1905 Herbert Austin acquired a disused printing works which was less than ten years old. It was located seven miles south-west of Birmingham in the small village of Longbridge (then still within Worcestershire). The following month The Austin Motor Company Limited was incorporated. In the last week of April 1906 a large body of motorists travelled to Longbridge “where snow lay full three inches deep on the ground and was still falling fast” to see the new Austin car, a conventional four-cylinder model with chain drive. It was available as a 15/20 hp complete at £500 (chassis, £425) and a 25/30 hp for £650 (chassis, £550). The sole concessionaire for sale of the cars was Mr Harvey Du Cros junior.

Two things were noticeable about Austin’s new design. He had parted from the Vickers brothers because he had refused to use the then more conventional vertical engine in Wolseley cars. His new car had a vertical engine and, in all but minor detail, was identical to the English-built Clément-Gladiators assembled in the same factory.

1907 30hp

1908 100hp Grand Prix Race Car

A further injection of capital was needed in 1906 and William Harvey Du Cros (1846–1918) joined the board of directors. After that Harvey Du Cros junior of the Swift Cycle Co and Austin each held approximately half of the ordinary capital. Herbert Austin remained chairman and managing director.

Editing undertaken: Unsharp Mask Austin Motors showroom, Long Acre, London, c. 1910

Austin’s cars, like Wolseley’s, were luxury vehicles. The published customer list included Russian Grand Dukes, Princesses, Bishops, high officials of the Spanish government and a long list of Britain’s highest nobility.

	1906	1907	1908	1909	1910	1911	1912	1913
Turnover	14,771	84,930	119,744	169,821	209,048	276,195	354,209	425,641
Cars	31	180	218				1,107	1,500
Employees		270				1,500	1,800	2,300

Sources Note: in 1912 Wolseley sold 3,000 cars.

In February 1914 Austin-manufactured bodies in tourer, limousine, landaulette and coupé styles could be provided with engines of 15, 20, 30 and 60 hp. Ambulances and commercial vehicles were also provided.

Austin became a public listed company in 1914 when the capital was increased to £650,000. At that time in number of cars produced it probably ranked fifth after Wolseley (still largest), Humber, Sunbeam and Rover.

The Austin Motor Co. grew enormously during the First World War, fulfilling government contracts for aircraft, shells, heavy guns and generating sets and 1,600 three-ton trucks most of which were sent to Russia. The workforce expanded from around 2,500 to 22,000.

1919–1939: Interwar success

1920 Twenty 3.6-litre allweathercoupé

1926 Seven box saloon

After the war Herbert Austin decided on a one-model policy based on the 3620 cc 20 hp engine. Versions included cars, commercials and even a tractor, but sales volumes were never enough to fill the vast factory built during wartime. The company went into receivership in 1921 but rose again after financial restructuring. Though Herbert Austin remained chairman he was no longer managing director and from that time decisions were made by committee.

Critical to the recovery was the appointment in 1922 of a new finance director, Ernest Payton with the backing of the Midland Bank, and a new works director in charge of car production, Carl Engelbach, at the insistence of the creditors’ committee. This triumvirate of Austin, Payton and Engelbach steered the company’s fortunes through the inter-war years.

In a quest to expand market share, smaller cars were introduced, the 1661 cc Twelve in 1922 and, later the same year, theSeven, an inexpensive, simple small car and one of the earliest to be directed at a mass market. One of the reasons for a market demand for a cars like the Austin 7 was the British tax code. In 1930 every personal car was taxed by the engine size, which in American dollars was $2.55 per square inch of piston displacement. As an example the owner of an Austin 7 in England, which sold for approximately $455.00, would have to pay a yearly engine tax of $39.00. In comparison, the owner in England of a Ford Model-A would have to pay $120.00 per year in an engine tax. And this system of engine displacement tax was common in other European nations as well in the 1930s. At one point, the “Baby Austin” was built under licence by the fledgling1930 BMW Dixi 15 PS BMW of Germany (as the Dixi); by the Japanese manufacturer1937 Datsun 16 Sedan Datsun; as the1939 Bantam Convertible Bantam in the United States; and as the1928 Rosengart LR4.jpg Rosengart in France. And in England the Austin was the most produced car in 1930 (the American Austin Car Company operated as a largely independent subsidiary from 1929 to 1934, and was revived under the name “American Bantam” from 1937 to 1941).

With the help of the Seven, Austin weathered the worst of the depression and remained profitable through the 1930s, producing a wider range of cars which was steadily updated by the introduction of all-steel bodies, Girling brakes, and synchromesh gearboxes. However, all the engines retained the same side-valve conformation. Deputy chairman Ernest Payton became chairman in 1941 on the death of Lord Austin. In 1938 Leonard Lord joined the company board and became chairman in 1946 on the death of Ernest Payton.

1938 Austin Seven Ruby Motor Centre, Gaydon.jpg

 Austin Seven Ruby

Nissan

In the early 1930s Datsun later known as Nissan Motor Company of Japan built cars infringing Austin patents. From 1934 Datsun began to build Austin Sevens under licence and this operation became the greatest success of Austin’s overseas licensing of its Seven. This marked the beginning of Datsun’s international success.

In 1952 Austin entered into another agreement with Nissan for that company to assemble 2000 imported Austins from partially assembled sets and to sell them in Japan under the Austin trademark. The agreement called for Nissan to make all Austin parts locally within three years, a goal Nissan met. Nissan produced and marketed Austins for seven years. The agreement also gave Nissan rights to use Austin patents, which Nissan used in developing its own engines for its Datsun line of cars. In 1953 British-built Austins were assembled and sold, but by 1955, the Austin A50 – completely built by Nissan and featuring a slightly larger body with 1489 cc engine – was on the market in Japan. Nissan produced 20,855 Austins between 1953 and 1959.

1939–1958: War years and post-war years

Austin A30 1954

 1954 A30

During the Second World War Austin continued building cars but also made trucks and aircraft, including the Lancaster bombers of 617 squadron, better known as the Dambusters.

The post-war car range was announced in 1944, and production started in 1945. The immediate post-war range was mainly similar to that of the late 1930s but did include the 16 hp, significant for having the company’s first overhead valve engine.

Austin of England

From late 1950 to mid-1952 products, brochures and advertisements displayed in flowing script Austin of England as if in response to Morris’s Nuffield Organisation. It fell out of use with the financial merger with Morris in BMC.

BMC

In 1952 The Austin Motor Company Limited merged ownership, but not identity, with long-term rival and equal Morris Motors Limited in The British Motor Corporation Limited with Leonard Lord, who had been managing director of Morris from 1932 to 1936, in charge. William Morris (Lord Nuffield) was first chairman but soon retired. Leonard Lord, who had stormed out of Morris declaring he would “take Cowley apart brick by brick”, ensured Austin was the dominant partner and its (more recently designed OHV) engines were adopted for most of the cars. Various models followed the Morris policy and became badge-engineered versions of each other.

Austin A40 Sports, ca 1951

Austin on Blvd Népköztársaság (today Andrássy avenue) in Budapest, end of 1950s

Austin-Healey

Also in 1952, Austin did a deal with Donald Healey, the renowned automotive engineer. It led to a new marque,

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Austin-Healey, and a range of sports cars.

1959–1969: Era of revolution

1963 Mini Cooper S

With the threat to fuel supplies resulting from the 1956 Suez Crisis, Lord asked Alec Issigonis, who had been with Morris from 1936 to 1952, to design a small car; the result was the revolutionary Mini, launched in 1959. The Austin version was initially called the Austin Seven, but Morris’ Mini Minor name caught the public imagination and the Morris version outsold its Austin twin, so the Austin’s name was changed to Mini to follow suit. In 1970, British Leyland dropped the separate Austin and Morris branding of the Mini, and it was subsequently simply “Mini”, under the Austin Morris division of BLMC.

The principle of a transverse engine with gearbox in the sump and driving the front wheels was applied to larger cars, beginning with the 1100 of 1963, (although the Morris-badged version was launched 13 months earlier than the Austin, in August 1962), the 1800 of 1964 and the Maxi of 1969. This meant that BMC had spent 10 years developing a new range of front-drive, transverse-engined models, while most competitors had only just started to make such changes.

The big exception to this was the Austin 3-litre. Launched in 1968, it was a rear-wheel drive large car, but it shared the central section of the 1800. It was a sales disaster, with fewer than 10,000 examples being made.

BMC was the first British manufacturer to move into front-wheel drive so comprehensively. Ford did not launch its first front-drive model until 1976 (in Britain), Ford-Germany in 1962 with the Taunus 12M(P4)), while Vauxhall’s first front-drive model was launched in 1979 and Chrysler UK’s first such car was launched in 1975. Front-wheel drive was popular elsewhere in Europe, however, with Renault, Citroen and Simca all using the system at the same time or before BMC. East Germany’s Trabant used the system from 1958.

In September 1965 BMC completed the purchase of its major supplier, Pressed Steel. Twelve months later it completed the purchase of Jaguar and in December 1966 changed its name from BMC to BMH, British Motor Holdings Limited. In early 1968 under government pressure BMH merged with Leyland Motors Limited and Austin became a part of the large British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC) combine.

1970–1979: Era of turbulence

1979 Maxi

By 1970 Austin was part of the British Leyland combine. Austin’s most notorious model of this era was the 1973Allegro, successor to the 1100/1300 ranges, which was criticised for its bulbous styling which earned it the nickname “Flying pig” as well as the doubtful build quality and indifferent reliability. It was still a strong seller in Britain, although not quite as successful as its predecessor.The wedge-shaped 18/22 series was launched as an Austin, a Morris and a more upmarket Wolseley in 1975. But within six months, it was rechristened the Princess and wore none of the previous marque badges, becoming a marque in its own right, under the Austin Morris division of British Leyland that had been virtually nationalised in 1975.

The Princess was not quite as notorious as the Allegro, and earned some praise for its practical wedge shape, spacious interior, and decent ride and handling, but build quality was suspect and the lack of a hatchback (which would have ideally suited its body shape) cost valuable sales. It was upgraded at the end of 1981 to become the Austin Ambassador (and gaining a hatchback) but by that time there was little that could be done to disguise the age of the design, and it was too late to make much of an impact on sales.

By the end of the 1970s, the future of Austin and the rest of British Leyland (now known as BL) was looking bleak.

1980–1989: Austin Rover era

Metro, launched in 1980Maestro, launched in 1983Montego, launched in 1984

The Austin Metro, launched in October 1980, was heralded as the saviour of Austin Motor Company and the whole BL combine. Twenty-one years after the launch of the Mini, it gave BL a much-needed modern supermini to compete with the recently launched likes of the Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Nova, VW Polo and Renault 5. It was an instant hit with buyers and was one of the most popular British cars of the 1980s. It was intended as a replacement for the Mini but, in fact, the Mini outlived the Metro by two years.

In 1982, most of the car division of the by now somewhat shrunken British Leyland (BL) company was rebranded as the Austin Rover Group, with Austin acting as the “budget” and mainstream brand to Rover’s more luxurious models. The MG badge was revived for sporty versions of the Austin models, of which the MG Metro 1300 was the first.

Austin revitalised its entry into the small family-car market in March 1983 with the launch of its all-new Maestro, a spacious five-door hatchback that replaced the elderly Allegro and Maxi and was popular in the early years of its production life, although sales had started to dip dramatically by the end of the decade.

April 1984 saw the introduction of the Maestro-derived Montego saloon, successor to the Morris Ital. The new car received praise for its interior space and comfort, but early build-quality problems took time to overcome. The spacious estate version, launched in early 1985, was one of the most popular load carriers of its era.

In 1986 Austin Rover’s holding company BL plc became Rover Group plc and was privatised by selling it to British Aerospace (BAe).

Plans to replace the Metro with a radical new model, based on the ECV3 research vehicle and aiming for 100 mpg, led to the Austin AR6 of 1984–1986, with several prototypes tested. The desire to lose the Austin name and take Rover “upmarket” led to this project’s demise in early 1987.

In 1987, the Austin badge was discontinued and Austin Rover became simply the Rover Group. The Austin cars continued to be manufactured, although they ceased to be Austins. They became “marque-less” in their home market with bonnet badges the same shape as the Rover longship badge but without “Rover” written on them. Instead any badging just showed the model of the car: a Montego of this era, for instance, would have a grille badge simply saying “Montego”, whilst the rear badges just said “Montego” and the engine size/trim level. The Metro was facelifted in 1990 and got the new K-series engine. It then became the “Rover Metro”, while the Maestro and Montego continued in production until 1994 and never wore a Rover badge on their bonnets in Britain. They were, however, sometimes referred to as “Rovers” in the press and elsewhere.

Possible revival

The rights to the Austin name passed to British Aerospace and then to BMW when each bought the Rover Group. The rights were subsequently sold to MG Rover, created when BMW sold the business. Following MG Rover’s collapse and sale, Nanjing Automobile Group owns the Austin name and Austin’s historic assembly plant in Longbridge. At the Nanjing International Exhibition in May 2006, Nanjing announced it might use the Austin name on some of the revived MG Rover models, at least in the Chinese market. However, Nanjing is for the moment concentrating on reviving the MG brand. The MG brand is traditionally used for sports cars and Nanjing has no rights to the Rover name, so a revival of the Austin name would seem a logical brand for selling more standard cars. It might also be argued that a British name would be more respected in the European market than a Chinese name. Nanjing Automobile Group itself merged into SAIC Motor.

Austin Motor Company Limited

A new “Austin Motor Company Limited” was incorporated in July 2012 by Steve Morgan of Birmingham who also owns the last Mini to leave Longbridge, but was dissolved in 2014.

In 2015, the “Austin Motor Company” and the 1930s “Flying A” logo name and patents was purchased by John Stubbs in Braintree, Essex. The company intend to start manufacturing an all new Austin car in 2016.

Plant

Austin’s Longbridge plant

Main article: Longbridge plant

Austin started his business in an abandoned print works at Longbridge, Birmingham. Due to its strategic advantages over Morris‘s Cowley plant, Longbridge became British Leyland‘s main factory. Following the Austin marque’s discontinuance in 1989, Rover and MG continued to use the plant. The collapse of MG Rover meant it was not used from 2005 until MG production restarted in 2008.

Models

Cars

Main article: List of Austin motor vehicles

 

1935 Light 12/6 with Ascot body

1946 12 (1465cc)

1975 1800 (ADO71)

Small cars

1910–11 Austin 7 hp1922–39 Austin 71959 Austin Seven Mini 1959–61 Seven, as BMC1963 Austin Mini 850 mk1 1961-69 Mini, as BMC1980–90 Metro, as Austin Rover

Small family cars

1911–15 Austin 10 hp1932 Austin Ten-Four DVLA First registered 17 June 1932, 1141 cc 1932–47 Austin 101946 Austin 8 4-door Saloon 1939–47 Austin 81954 Austin A30 4-door saloon 1951–56 A30Black Austin A35 1956–59 A35Austin A35 van1961 Austin A35 Countryman Wagon 1956–62 A35 Countryman1959 A right-hand drive convertible Austin Metropolitan 1954–61 Nash Metropolitan/Austin Metropolitan1960 Austin A40 Farina MkI front 1958–61 A40 Farina Mk I1961–67 A40 Farina Mk II1972 Austin 1300GT registered June 1972 1380cc (sic DVLA) 1963–74 1100Morris 1100 Mark II 2 door Saloon 1967–74 13001973–83 AllegroSixteen Westminster saloon 1932

Sixteen Carlton 7-seater 1934

Twenty Mayfair 1936

Eighteen Norfolk 1938

Large family cars

1913–14 Austin 15 hp1922–40 Austin “Heavy” 121927–38 Austin 16 (16/18)1931–36 Austin “Light” 12/61933–39 Austin “Light” 12/41937–39 Austin 141938–39 Austin 181939–47 Austin 12 1945–49 Austin 16 hpAustin A40 Devon saloon1947-1949 Austin A40 Dorset 1947–52 A40 Devon/Dorset1952 Austin A40 DevonAustin A70 HerefordAustin A70 Hampshire produced 1948-50, big brother to the similarly styled A40 Devon 1948–50 A70 Hampshire 1950–54 A70 Hereford1952 Austin A40 Somerset Saloon 1952–54 A40 Somerset1956 Austin A40 CambridgeAustin A40 1956 2Austin A50 Cambridge front

Austin A50 Cambridge

Austin A50 Coupe UtilityAustin A55 Cambridge frontAustin A55 Cambridge sideAustin A55 Coupe Utility1971 Austin (VOD 179J) panel vanMorris half ton van license plate 1970 based on pre Farina Austin Cambridge saloon 1954–58 A40/A50/A55 Cambridge1954 Austin A90 Six cyl Westminster1954 Austin A90 Westminster front 2639cc C series BMC engineAustin A105 Westminster, the 6cylinder A55 Cambridge. Longer bonnet, bigger engine, better car1956 Austin A105 Westminster frontAustin A95 Westminster front

1957 Austin A105 Westminster front1957 Austin A105 Six sideAustin with Vanden Plas detailing 1954–59 A90/A95/A105 Westminster 1956–59 A95 Westminster Station wagon.1958 Austin Westminster A105 21 1956–59 A105 Westminster1957 Austin A55 Cambridge front Cambrian (North America)1959 Austin A55 Cambridge Mark II Saloon 1959–61 A55 CambridgeAustin A55 Cambridge Mark II Estate1961 Austin Westminster Mar 1961 2912cc 1959–61 A99 Westminster1962 Austin 60 Cambridge Sedan 1961–69 A60 Cambridge1962 Austin A60 Wagon1966 Austin A110 Westminster beige 1961–68 A110 Westminster1970 Morris 1800 Mark II 1964–75 1800/2200 (ADO17)1969 Austin 1800 Automatic1969 Wolseley 18-851973 Austin 1800 Mk III 1798cc first reg Jan 1973 rear three quartersAustin 2200 Automatic1972 Wolseley Six Automatic1968 Austin 1800 utility (5080185261)1971 Austin 3-Litre (DVLA) first registered 20 August 1971, 2912cc at SVVC Extravaganza 1967–71 3-Litre1970 Austin Maxi MkI (left) and Austin Maxi MkII 1969–81 Maxi1975-75 1800/2200 (ADO71)1982–84 Ambassador1983–94 Maestro1984–94 Montego

Large Cars

1906–07 Austin 25/301906-07 Austin 15/201908 Austin 18-24 hp with Herbert Austin at the wheel

1908 Austin 18-24 Norfolk single landaulette1910 Austin 18-24 Speedily Phaeton(4299907805) 1907–13 Austin 18/241907 Austin 40hp York landaulette (4362173509)1912 Austin 40 Vitesse1912 Austin 40 f and i 1912 Austin 40 r1912 Austin 40 rr1908–13 Austin 40 hp

1908–10 Austin 60 hp 6-cylinder + Wolseley1910–13 Austin 50 hp 6-cylinder1914 Austin 20 hp Vitesse 1912–18 Austin 20 hp1914–16 Austin 30 hp

1918 Hudson Super Six 

1920 Austin 20 tourer1919 Austin 20 Tourer1919 Austin 20 Tourer rear1922 Austin Twenty Used by A.E. Filby in 1932 and 1935 to drive from London to Cape Town and back1926 Austin Mayfair 3,6-litre with aftermarket bumper 86695565421927 Austin 20 Tourer (DVLA) first registered 10 May 1927, 3600 ccAustin nine1927 Twenty four Mayfair saloon 3.6-litre1931 Austin 20 Raleigh 3,4-litre limousine1935 Austin 20 6 Ranelagh 2.11936 Austin Six registered December 1936 3377 cc1936 Austin 20 Mayfair saloon 192378479 1919–38 Austin Twenty1938–39 Austin Twenty Eight (28/6)1947-54 Austin A125 Sheerline DS1 front 3993cc engine

1947–54 A110/A125 Sheerline1946–56 A120 Princess

1946 Austin A135 Princess II (DS3) 1947–56 A135 Princess1958 Princess IV 3995cc, April 1958 1956–59 Princess IV

Limousines and Landaulettes

1906–07 Austin 25/301906-07 Austin 15/20

1907–13 Austin 18/24 1908–13 Austin 40 hp 1908–10 Austin 60 hp 6-cylinder1910–13 Austin 50 hp 6-cylinder  1912–18 Austin 20 hp1914–16 Austin 30 hp1919–38 Austin Twenty1927–38 Austin 16 (16/18)1938–39 Austin 181938-39 Austin Twenty Eight1947–54 A110/A125 Sheerline1946–56 A120 Princess1946 Austin A135 Princess MkII DS3 front 1947–56 A135 Princess1956–59 Princess IV

Sports cars

1923 Austin 20-4 Sports Tourer 1920–23 Austin Twenty Sports Tourer1950 Austin A90 Atlantic1949 Austin A90 Atlantic convertible green 1948–50 A90 Atlantic Convertible1951 Austin A90 Atlantic Sports Saloon 1949–52 A90 Atlantic Saloon1951 Austin A40 Sports Roadster 1950–53 A40 Sports1956 Austin-Healey 100 Roadster 1953–56 Austin-Healey 100

1954 Austin Healey 1001958–70 Austin-Healey Sprite1959–67 Austin-Healey 30001960 Austin-Healey Frogeye Sprite1971 Austin Sprite

Australian Austin cars1958–62 Austin Lancer1962–66 Austin Freeway

1970–73 Austin Kimberley/Tasman

Military vehicles

WWI Austin Armoured CarWWII Austin Ten Utility TruckWWII Austin K2/Y AmbulanceWWII Austin K41958–67 Austin GipsyAustin Champ

c. 1968 Austin Ant

1937 low-loader

London Taxis1929–34 Austin 12 Taxicab High Lot1934–39 Austin 12 Taxicab Low Loader1938–39 Austin 12 Taxicab Flash Lot1948–58 Austin FX31958–97 Austin FX4—London Taxi

Ambulances

• LD3
• WWII Austin K2/Y

Commercial vehicles

LWB truck 1954A200FT truck 1962Light van c. 1964

• Austin also made commercial vehicles, one of which was the FG, previously the Morris FG. The FG was the workhorse that kept Britain running in the 1960s. These Austin FGs and later the Leyland FGs all had petrol or diesel longstroke engines, producing good torque, but very little in the way of speed (40 mph was a good speed out of these vehicles). Leyland were to take over the FG, but before they did, in 1964, the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) commissioned six rolling chassis FGs to be coach built by a Middlesex company, Palmer Coachbuilders. These six vehicles, registration 660 GYE to 666 GYE, were outdoor broadcast scenery vehicles.

Aircraft

During World War I Austin built aircraft under licence, including the Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a, but also produced a number of its own designs. None of these progressed past the prototype stage. They included:

Austin-Ball A.F.B.1 (fighter)Austin A.F.T.3 (fighter)Austin Greyhound (fighter)Austin Kestrel (two-seat biplane)Austin Osprey (fighter)Austin Whippet (post-war civil aircraft)

Ambulances and Hearses

1916-knockchis-wolseley-ambulance-of-the-madonnas-of-pervyse-belgium1925 Austin 20hp Hearse

1926-austin-20-4-hearse-thomas startin1930-black-vintage-Austin-hearse1930 Austin 20-6 Landaulette converted from hearse1934-austin-hearse1937 Austin 16 Hearse Dottridge Brothers1938 Austin 18 Six Cylinder Ambulance
1939 Austin Eighteen Ambulance (DVLA first registered 6 January 1939)1939 Austin Six Ambulance (DVLA first registered 6 January 1939)1940 Wolseley Hearse1939-45 Austin Ambulance crews of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANYs)1940 Austin K2 Ambulance1942 The British Army in North Africa with Austin K2 Ambulance in 1942 E13327 1943 Austin K2 Ambulance

1947-54 Austin Sheerline A1251948 Austin K2Y HZ77982 Carrosserie Visser NL1948 Austin Princess Engine 3955 cc S6 OHV 585 1948 Austin Ziekenauto KP 84 131950 Austin A135 Princess Hearse MkII [DS3]1949 Austin K2Y Ambulance1950 Austin Princess Sheerline GB1955 Ambulance Austin A152 Ambulance brochure1957 Ambulance Austin Princess1959 Austin FX3 Hearse1960 Princess 4-Litre Hearse Alpe & Saunders1960 Vanden Plas Princess 4litre Hearse

1960’s Austin A60 Hearse1964-morris-ld-ambulance1964 Vanden Plas Princess lijkwagen1965 Morris Minor Hearse1966 AUSTIN A110 WESTMINSTER LOW LINE HEARSE

1959 Austin Taxi Model FX4D1965 Beardmore ‘London’ Taxi1964 Austin Princess1965 Morris Minor Hearse1966 Vauxhall Vanden Plas Princess 4 Litre R Hearse

There are lots more Ambulances, Hearses, Limousines and so on. I’ll show them in my next blog. There will only be pictures I found on the www.

Notes

1. Jump up^ “Mr H Austin, who has for so many years been associated with the Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company, Limited, and who is starting new works, where he will manufacture Austin Cars, at Longbridge, near Birmingham” Mr H Austin, who has been for so long associated with the Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Co. of Adderley Park, Birmingham, advises us that he is leaving the Company, and is starting works on his own account situated at Longbridge, near Birmingham, where he will manufacture vehicles which are to be known as the ‘’Austin’’ Cars. At first Mr Austin will turn out two sizes of tourist cars viz., a 15-20 hp and a 25-30 hp. both of which models will embody the best approved principles in design, and Mr Austin proposes to use only the highest grade of materials in their manufacture. Moderation is to govern the selling price, and Mr Austin hopes to make the car of his name a household word for reliability and good service. Captan Frank Kayser is associated with Mr Austin in the new undertaking and he will be assisted by a specially-selected staff, several of whom have been connected with him in the past. The works are of considerable extent, covering several acres, and are thoroughly suitable for the construction of automobiles of all types. Mr Austin hopes to have his first 25-30 hp car on the road by the 1st of December and to commence deliveries by the end of March 1906. Mr Austin sends us, in a tabulated form, an extremely interesting record gained by the cars which have been turned out by the Wolseley Company during his direction of that Company. This list bristles with gold and silver medals in all the leading reliability and consumption trials, exhibitions etc whilst in the speed events and hill-climbing contests, the number of winners makes a formidable show, these triumphs being in addition to the selection by the A.C.G.B.I. of the Wolseley racers in 1904 and 1905 for the Gordon Bennett Race.‘’The Automotor Journal, November 4, 1905 Page 1366’’

References

1. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e} Roy Church, ‘Austin, Herbert, Baron Austin (1866–1941)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
2. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e f} RAC Rating
3. Jump up^ Automobile Notes. The Times, Tuesday, 1 May 1906; p. 6; Issue 38008
4. Jump up^ A Bird and F Hutton-Stott, Lanchester Motor Cars, a History, Cassell London, 1965 p.110
5. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c} The Austin Motor Company (1914) Limited. The Times, Monday, 9 February 1914; p. 13; Issue 40442.
6. Jump up^ “Austin Motor Company”. The Times. 27 May 1911. p. 21.
7. Jump up^ “Austin Motor Company”. The Times. 2 October 1912. p. 7.
8. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c} Sheepish start for the lion of Longbridge. Lord Montagu of Beaulieu.The Times, Saturday, 26 August 1995; pg. 3[S1]; Issue 65356.
9. Jump up^ “Midget Cars Next?” Popular Mechanics, August 1930 right column, second paragraph
10. Jump up^ Cusumano, pp. 90–92
11. Jump up^ Dolan, Andy (13 April 2010). “Austin Allegro fan spends £8,500 restoring £800 ‘flying pig'”. Daily Mail. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
12. Jump up^ “Austin Motor Company Limited”.Company Check. Retrieved30 November 2015.
13. Jump up^ “£4.99… and I’m the new boss of Austin Motors!”. Birmingham Mail. 8 February 2013. Retrieved 1 March2015.
14. Jump up^ “News : The final Mini leaves Longbridge”. AR Online. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 2 January2013.

Further reading

• Sharratt, Barney (2000), Men and Motors of “The Austin”: The Intriguing Inside Story, Haynes Group, ISBN 1-85960-671-7
• Cusumano, Michael A. (1985), The Japanese Automobile Industry, Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-47255-1

External links

• Austin Memories All about the history of Longbridge and models produced
• Photos of Austin Pickup Van
• The Unofficial Austin-Rover Web Resource
• “Midget Cars Next?” Popular Mechanics, August 1930, pp. 243–245 article on the Austin models offered in 1930