I came across this group of old car enthusiasts with their Austin Sevens as they were parked at the end of the Buttertubs Pass, where it meets Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales. I thought I'd seen them a few days previously parked just off the road that runs alongside Coniston Water in the Lake District. And sure enough, it was the same people. We were following in each other's tyre treads.
The Austin 7 was produced from 1922 to 1939 and was the first truly affordable mass-produced vehicle of British design and manufacture. The importance of the heritage of the Austin 7 cannot be overstated as without it the Austin company would have financially failed, the pre-war population would have been deprived of the chance of owning their first motor car and the 750 Motor Club would probably not have come into existence. In fact several well-known companies might not have succeeded if they had not been able to become licenced manufacturers of the design. The first BMW was a 7, known as a Dixi in Germany, and in Japan, Nissan based their first cars on it. The Swallow version of the Austin 7 laid the foundations of the Jaguar Car Company.
Some 290,000 Austin 7 cars were produced by Sir Herbert Austin’s company and about 8,000 are thought to still exist worldwide. They came in a variety of models that included saloons, tourers, sports cars and vans. When launched the Austin 7 cost just £165. Its original 696cc engine of 7.2 horsepower was quickly enlarged to 747cc. The revised four cylinder side-valve engine gave a very modest 10.5 brake horse power but it was enough to propel the little car to a top speed of 50 miles per hour. Many a 1930s family packed children, luggage, mum and dad into the tiny cabin and set off on holiday to far flung parts of the country – and abroad.
(Courtesy of
www.750mc.co.uk/austin7.htm)
