Austin Seven & The Mini

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Austin Seven Tourer 1927; Submitted by Rick Feibusch, 2011


Austin Seven Tourer 1927

Austin Seven & The Mini

By Geoff Wheatley 2012

One of the most famous cars ever produced was the British Austin Seven that was also made under license in Germany, Japan, France and America. Designed in 1921 and launched in 1922 it was at that time the smallest British four cylinder vehicle. The original engine size was 696 cc, however this was increased a couple of years later to 747cc to provide better performance and equally important to live up to the marketing claim that it could transport four adults at fifty miles an hour. The production run of seventeen years and may well have continued but for the outbreak of war in 1939 when all private production stopped in Britain. Factories were converted to producing war items including Austin and its principle rival Morris Motors.

The engine for the Austin seven was designed by a young eighteen year old engineer named Stanley Edge who went on to contribute to the success of both Austin and later the post war British Motor Corporation, a combination of the Austin and Morris motor companies encouraged by the government of the day in the belief that it would create a more successful and prosperous corporation.


Austin Seven 1931; Submitted by Rick Feibusch, 2010

Austin Seven 1931

In reality the end result was closer to the reverse as both Austin and Morris never blended into one efficient unit and continued to see their respective markets as competitive. There was little joint co-operation throughout the life of the BMC and certainly no love lost as far as joint development was concerned. When the equally famous Mini was conceived and designed by Alec Issigonis, a top engineer within the Morris Corporation, the eventual product was sold as the new Austin Seven which did not sit well within the Morris Company especially as the early cars were produced at the Morris factory in Oxford, and later in the MG facility in Abingdon.

Another memorable car to emerge from the BMC union if that’s what it should be called was the Austin Healey which first saw the light of day in 1953. It had the unique distinction of being produced in a total of three locations during its production period. The first Healey known as the 100 was followed by the “Big Healey” featuring a three liter engine, production ceased in 1967 after a total of almost 74,000 cars had been made but the name continued until 1971 with the Frog Eyed Sprite followed by other Sprite’s designated as Mark Two through to Five.

Austin Healey 1954; Submitted by Rick Feibusch, 2011

Austin Healey 1954

The reintroduction of the MG Midget made famous by the prewar car of the same name was little more than a badge engineering operation of the Austin Healey Sprite. When the Austin Healey 100 was first introduced at the London Motor Show in 1952 it received rave reviews from the motoring media with Donald Healey, the famous prewar Rally driver equally on display. The design had originally come out his own company but the financial requirement to bring the car into reality was achieved through the Austin association who at that time were looking for a sports car to compete with the success of Jaguar and MG in the American export market.

MGTD 1953
MGTD 1953

The newly formed BMC may well have had something to do with this arrangement especially as the policy of the British government who had a financial interest was to increase exports especially to the USA. MG had a replacement for the TD Series ready to go in 1952 but the BMC agreement for the first Austin Healey’s to be produced at Abingdon shelved the production of this car for another three years. (The MGTF was a stop gap that could be produced on the established TD production lines until the new MGA could go into production through a proposed expansion of the MG facility).

If you are wondering why Austin had such power through the creation of the BMC when in size and capacity it was smaller than the Morris Empire the answer is simple, the then CEO of Austin was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of the British Motor Corporation.



Austin Mini 1960

Austin Mini 1960

Lord Nuffield, who had ruled Morris ever since its conception some fifty years earlier had retired and given up his financial interests in the company with no successor in the wings to take over therefore the Austin Corporation, or rather it’s CEO, was appointed to run this large and complex enterprise. It is reported that Nuffield was not pleased with this situation and made this known to the government representatives on the board and the Prime Minister of the day. The end result was that a Morris man was given the position of Managing Director but in reality the Austin brigade was now running the show. Longbridge, the home of the Austin Corporation had been a strong Union Plant for a number of years while the Morris Empire had never been subjected to this situation mainly because Morris like his mentor Henry Ford paid his workers above the union rates to keep out union recruiters. With the creation of the BMC this was to change and eventually led to union control of the British Motor industry but that is another story for another time!

I think it would be fair to say that no other car influenced the future of small car production than the Austin Seven and later the Austin Mini. An equally and almost ironic result of the success of these two cars was that BMW started producing motors cars under license to manufacture the Austin Seven known in Europe as the BMW Dixie in 1927.

Fast forward to the 1990’s when the same BMW Corporation purchased Rover which included the Mini which was due to be phased out by Rover. This had been tried before when Rover was part of British Leyland but public demand simply did not allow the car to die and Leyland had to continue and even invest a few million into maintaining production of one of the most successful small cars ever produced. We often see pictures etc., of Mini Coopers burning rubber and showing a clean pair of rear wheels on race tracks around the world, what may not be so well known is that back in the 1930’s it was possible to see the Austin Seven’s in racing form achieving much the same results. For the record in the 1929 TT races a baby Austin took third place against larger and certainly more powerful competitors, move forward to the next year 1930 and in its class two Austin Sevens took top honors in the”500 Mile Race” at the famous Brookland’s banked race course. Further success followed throughout the prewar years in Britain, Europe and the then British Empire.

Austin 7 Special 1930
Austin 7 Special 1930

Without doubt the achievement of being placed in the top ten during the 2.400 mile East African Rally in 1935 represented a very tall feather in the Austin Seven competitive cap. Three cars competed and two finished the course with one arriving at the finishing line as number eight.

Footnote: During the war Austin Sevens were used as transport equipment especially at air centers where space was limited and reliable transport was required. Later when the US entered the war they were replaced by the American jeep but I am told that the seven was preferred by the female staff because of human comfort!!
© 2012 Geoff Wheatley

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Mini Cooper 1967

Mini Cooper 1967
Submitted by Rick Feibusch, 2008

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MG TF 1954

MG TF 1954
Submitted by Rick Feibusch, 2008

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MGA 1955

MGA 1955
Submitted by Rick Feibusch, 2011

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MG Miget MK III 1967

MG Miget MK III 1967
Yountville, California, 2007



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