Description
Before the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, Herbert Austin had produced mainly expensive motor cars including a 3. 6 Litre 20 HP car. By the end of the conflict in 1918, Austin employed some 22, 000 people, manufacturing armaments, military vehicles and even aeroplanes. Austin intended to copy the manufacturing philosophy of Henry Ford, and decided that the future was in mass production with a single model. After being impressed by his own American Hudson car he chose the 3. 6 Litre 20 HP to be his only post-war model. The Twenty was something of a financial disaster due to post-war austerity and after being hit with a huge excess war profits tax bill by the government, his one-model policy almost broke the company. It was only the miniaturising of this model to create the Austin Heavy 12/ 4, and the introduction of the legendary Austin Seven which saved the company. From the outset, the Austin Seven was a sensation. Here was a scaled-down proper motor car, not a larger cycle car. Based on an A-frame leaf-sprung chassis and powered by a 747cc four-cylinder side-valve engine with two main bearings, it had transverse-leaf spring suspension at the front and quarter-elliptic springs at the back. Available in numerous different body styles, saloons, tourers and vans, with a few coach built derivatives, it was produced until 1939. Sevens are a strong little car, easy and fun to drive and with enduring appeal. They remain the mainstay of the Vintage car movement. Introduced in 1930, the cute and compact RL Saloon, had a short 75” wheelbase (lengthened to 81” in the larger RN of 1932) and featured a three-speed crash gearbox. Notable for its shorter body and lack of bonnet louvres, the RL saloon is a desirable and rare model, this one is described as the B1 Box saloon with Type E short scuttle body. It has one piece winding door windows, a five gallon petrol tank and originally cost around £140.
Originally registered on August 22nd, 1930, in Market Harborough, we have decades of ownership history. It has spent much of its life in Nottinghamshire, and South Yorkshire. We have correspondence showing a sale of the car in February 1969 for £30! The car represents a lovely older restoration and there is ample evidence of good maintenance in recent years with many parts supplied by the Austin Seven Workshop. The leather seating is particularly fine and on the road, it is a delight. The car has just been fitted with a new battery and comes with two files of history and manuals including an original owner's handbook.
