Austin 12 (1939)

The Austin 12 launched in August 1939 was a large four-door family saloon built by Austin. It was presented as an all-new design, more streamlined than the car it followed, with a one-piece bonnet hinged at the rear and standard fittings that included a sliding roof, an opening windscreen and leather upholstery. The body was a little longer and wider than its predecessor's, while the wheelbase was initially shorter. It kept a conventional chassis frame, mechanical rod-operated brakes, rigid beam axles and leaf springs, and used a 1535 cc sidevalve engine and four-speed gearbox carried over from the earlier car, with 40 bhp claimed and many people finding it underpowered. War began within weeks of its launch, so cars built in the early 1940s were restricted to military and government use. Production continued until 1947, when the Austin A70 Hampshire replaced it, and in 1945 Austin offered the Austin 16, the same car fitted with its first overhead valve engine of 2199 cc.