Austin 7

Austin 7
Production period:	1909-1911 1922-1939
Class :	Small car
Body versions :	Phaeton , roadster , sedan , station wagon , coupe , convertible
Successor:	Austin A30

Austin 7 was the name of two small car models made by the British Austin Motor Company , which were produced from 1909 to 1911 and from 1922 to 1939. The model produced in the 1920s and 1930s was one of the most popular passenger cars of its time and was called the "British Model T ".

Types

Austin 7 (1909-1911)

7 (1909-1911)

Production period:	1909-1911
Body versions :	Phaeton
Engines:	Otto engine : 1.1 liters (6.6 kW)
Length:	2680 mm
Width:	1397 mm
Height:
Wheelbase :	1829 mm
Empty weight :	381 kg

The first Austin 7 (hp) was a tiny, two-seater touring car with a front-mounted single-cylinder engine with 1097 cm³ displacement (9 hp / 6.6 kW) and wooden spoke wheels. It was built by the Swift Motor Company in Coventry , was Austin's smallest model and complemented the range of four-cylinder models built since 1906.

As early as 1912, it had dropped out of the program and Austin only built cars with 4 or 6 cylinder engines in the future.

Austin 7 (1922-1932)

7 (1922-1932)
Austin 7 Sedan (1926)
Production period:	1922-1932
Body versions :	Roadster , limousine , station wagon , coupé , convertible
Engines:	Otto engine : 0.75 liters (7.7 kW)
Length:	2870 mm
Width:	1588 mm
Height:
Wheelbase :	1905 mm
Empty weight :	Chassis: 249 kg

Sir Herbert Austin started production of the Austin 12 when it became clear after the First World War that the company's policy of restricting itself to a single model was causing problems. In collaboration with the young designer Stanley Edge, Austin designed a tiny car that was supposed to replace the sidecar motorcycles and tricycles. In 1922, based on the Peugeot Quadrilette , he presented a small, four-seater, four-cylinder engine with a displacement of 696 cc. The displacement was expanded to 747 cm³ in 1923. From 1927 on, special body variants were also offered. a. by the Swallow Sidecar Co. founded in 1923 (from which Jaguar Cars emerged ). Sports executions followed under names such as Ulster and Nippy . The body manufacturer Compton Sons & Terry built a sporty coupé body known as the Arrow , the production of which was continued by AP Compton & Co. in 1931 .

Austin 7 Sports (1927)

Austin 7 Swallow Saloon (1931)

Austin 7 (1933-1939)

7 (1933-1939)
Austin 7 Sedan (1933)
Production period:	1933-1939
Body versions :	Roadster , limousine , station wagon , coupé , convertible
Engines:	Otto engine : 0.75 liters (8.8 kW)
Length:	3023 mm
Width:	1588 mm
Height:
Wheelbase :	2057 mm
Empty weight :

From 1934 the wheelbase and vehicle length were increased by 3 ″ (76 mm) and the 747 cm³ engine now developed 12 bhp (8.8 kW).

In 1939 the 7 was discontinued after 290,000 copies due to the war. A successor appeared again in 1951 with the Austin A30 .

Austin 7 Nippy racing car (1934)

License models and varieties

French licensed model: Rosengart LR2 (1929)

License versions of the model were built by manufacturers in other countries. In Germany, a model from the Dixi company appeared , which was later taken over by BMW ; Rosengart started production of the model in France . In Japan, Nissan took the Austin 7 as a model for its first own models without acquiring a license. The Berlin-Adlershof- based company Willys-Overland Crossley also built the Austin 7 as a license model. Because of the high import duties, individual parts were delivered and assembled; the models were left-hand drive.

In the 1950s , the Lotus company used the technology of the Austin 7 as a basis for developing the Lotus Seven . The Austin 7's engine was also used by the Reliant brand on their three-wheeled vehicles. When Austin ceased production, Reliant made a copy of the power unit and used it in its models until 1963.

On the basis of the Austin 7, Pippbrook Garages Ltd. the Humming Bird in the late 1940s.

Body shapes

Tourer

Type	Surname	description	From	To
XL		prototype	1922
FROM		Aluminum body, 4 seats	1922	1924
AC			1924	1926
AD		4 seats	1926	1929
AE		4 seats. 5.1 cm wider than AD	1929	1929
		2 seats	1929	1930
AF		Steel body, 4 seats	1930	1932
AH		Pressed steel body. 4 seats	1932
AAK	Touring car	disguised radiator		1934
AH		Pressed steel body. 4 seats	1932
PD		Two-seater	1934
APD	opal	Two-seater	1934	1936
EEL	Touring car	Covered spare wheel	1935
AH		Pressed steel body. 4 seats	1932
APE	New opal	Two-seater	1936

Limousines

Type	Surname	description	From	To
R.		Aluminum or canvas saloon	1926	1927
RK		Aluminum or canvas saloon	1927
RL		Steel saloon	1930
RG		Canvas saloon	1930
RN		Long wheelbase, steel saloon
RP			1932
ARQ	Ruby	saloon	1934
ARR	"New" Ruby	saloon	1936

Cabriolet

Type	Surname	description	From	To
AC	Pearl	Convertible from ARQ Ruby.	1934
ACA	"New" Pearl	Cabriolet from ARR New Ruby.	1936

Sports car

Type	Surname	description	From	To
50 mph		Aluminum body. Long tail		1926
E Super Sports		Aluminum body. No doors	1927	1928
EA Sports	Ulster	Aluminum body. No doors, pointed rear	1931
EB 65	Type 65	Aluminum body. No doors. Round stern	1933	1934
AEB	Nippy	Steel body. Doors. Round stern	1934	1937
EK 75	Speedy	Aluminum body. Pointed tail
AEK	Speedy	Another name for EK 75		1935

Coupes

Type	Surname	description	From	To
Type B		Upper part of canvas.	1928	1931

Combinations

Type	description	From	To
AB, AC and AD	Converted touring car	1923	1927
AE		1929	1930
RK	Converted RK saloon
RM	Converted RL saloon
RN	Converted RN saloon
RP	Converted RP Saloon	1933
AVH
AVJ and AVK	Rebuilt Ruby		1939

swell

Culshaw, David & Horrobin, Peter: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895–1975 . Veloce Publishing PLC, Dorchester 1997, ISBN 1-874105-93-6 .

Web links

Commons : Austin 7 - collection of pictures, videos and audio files