Austin A40 Sports

The Austin A40 Sports was a four-passenger aluminium-bodied convertible introduced at the 1950 London Motor Show, built by Austin in partnership with Jensen Motors of West Bromwich. Austin chairman Leonard Lord asked Jensen to design a body for the mechanicals of the A40 Devon after seeing the Jensen Interceptor, and stylist Eric Neale drew it. Jensen built the bodies and Austin completed the cars at Longbridge. A twin-carburettor 1.2 litre engine gave 46 bhp, and the car favoured touring comfort over outright speed. Just over four thousand were made in two series between November 1950 and April 1953, and a 1951 car was driven round the world in 21 days as a publicity stunt.