The Gill was an English

car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

based on the

Astra Astra (Latin for "stars") may refer to: People * Astra (name) Places * Astra, Chubut, a village in Argentina * Astra (Isauria), a town of ancient Isauria, now in Turkey * Astra, one suggested name for a hypothetical fifth planet that became t ...

and built in George Street, Paddington, London from 1958 to 1960 by a subsidiary of the British Anzani Company. It was another product of the fuel shortages that occurred during the 1956

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

. Like the Astra it featured a rear-mounted 322 cc air-cooled engine mounted under the floor at the rear and all-round

independent suspension Independent suspension is any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically (i.e. reacting to a bump on the road) independently of the others. This is contrasted with a beam axle or deDion axle system in ...

with swing axles at the rear. Drive was by chain to the rear wheels through a three-speed motorcycle gearbox with floor-mounted change lever. The brakes were hydraulically operated. The two seat body was made from aluminium over a wood frame mounted on a steel chassis. It shared the Astra's front bodywork but from the windscreen back it was bodied as a coupé called the Getabout. A four-seat taxi version was also proposed and some saloons might have been made. At £500 (£523 for the de-luxe) the car was expensive when a

Ford Popular The Ford Popular, often called the Ford Pop, is a car from Ford UK that was built in England between 1953 and 1962. When launched, it was Britain's lowest priced car. The name Popular was also used by Ford to describe its 1930s Y Type model. T ...

cost £444.

References

{{Reflist Microcars Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England Vehicle manufacture in London Cars introduced in 1958

See also

References