Austin A40 Sports

The Austin A40 Sports debuted at the 1949 London Motor Show at Earls Court as a four-passenger, aluminium-bodied convertible variant of the Austin A40 – carrying an ''Austin of England'' nameplate, bearing Austin's ''Flying A'' hood ornament, and designed and manufactured in conjunction with Jensen Motors.

Production of the A40 Sports, which was intended as a sporty touring car rather than a true sports car, began in November 1950 for model year 1951. By the time production ended in 1953, just over 4,000 had been manufactured.

Overview

As one in a series of collaborations between Austin and Jensen Motors of West Bromwich, the A40 Sports originated when Austin's chairman Leonard Lord saw the Jensen Interceptor and requested that Jensen develop a body that could use the A40 mechanicals. The resulting body-on-frame A40 Sports was designed by Eric Neale, a stylist who had joined Jensen in 1946 after working at Wolseley Motors. During production, A40 Sports bodies were built by Jensen and transported to Austin's Longbridge plant for final assembly.

Per Lord's intention, the A40 Sports was based on the mechanicals of the Austin A40 Devon, though the centre section of the chassis was boxed to provide rigidity for the open body. The A40 Sports also employed a twin-SU carburetored version of the 1.2 L engine producing rather than . Gear selection was originally via a floor-mounted shifter. Steering was worm and roller type, front suspension was independent coil springs with rigid beam axle and semi-elliptic leaf springs at the rear.

Production of the A40 Sports occurred in two series. The initial ''GD2 Series'' began in November 1950 and featured a floor gear change and dashboard identical to that of the Devon. The later ''GD3 Series'' began production in August 1951 and ended in April 1953, featuring a steering-column gear change, full hydraulic brakes, and a revised dash with a centered instrument panel. 4,011 A40 Sports were manufactured.

The A40 Sports had trouble maintaining cruising speeds – despite a top speed of as recorded by the British magazine ''The Motor'' in 1951 – and could accelerate from in 25.6 seconds. Tests achieved a fuel consumption of .

Reporting similar performance figures, an '' Autocar'' road test in 1950 described the acceleration as "not startling, but more than adequate". The brakes and steering were commended, along with the "very good luggage space" and the "clear to read" instruments, but it was noted that a "considerable leg reach" was needed to use the "foot-operated dip switch" for the headlights.

In the United States – initially targeted as its primary market – the A40 was priced at about $2,200 (equivalent to $25,250, 2021). It was listed at about £818 in the UK, at a time when a mainstream middle market six-cylinder saloon, the Vauxhall Velox, was offered for £550 and Austin's own A40 saloon was offered for slightly more than £500.

Round the World in 1951

As a publicity stunt to promote the A40 Sports, Leonard Lord bet Alan Hess of Austin's publicity department that he could not drive round the world in 30 days in the car. In 1951 an A40 Sports driven by Hess achieved the ''round-the-world'' feat in 21 days rather than the planned 30 – with the assistance of a KLM cargo plane – covering about 10,000 land miles, averaging 475 miles per day and consuming 29 mpg.

References

External links

Austin A40 Sports Round the World in Three Weeks

Austin Counties Car Club
— Owners club website



A40 Sports
Cars introduced in 1950
Convertibles
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles

{{Automobiles made by BMC, BL and Rover Group companies, post-1945