This year, 2022, marks the 100^th anniversary of the launch of the remarkable Austin Seven. Why it was remarkable and how widely it influenced the world of 20^th century motoring is illustrated by the recent banners that have appeared in the museum. These hover over eight cars in the collection and highlight the obvious and, in some cases, not so obvious connections between the Austin Seven and manufacturers and models that became household names over the last 100 years. Throughout the remainder of this year, this blog will examine the background story to these cars.

So how did the Austin Seven come to be? Was it a product of market research and a vast development team assessing marketing needs? Well, not really – more the case of one man with a vision and a desire to get his company out of receivership, a brilliant young engineer and a billiard table!

In 1922, the brief post-WW1 boom had evaporated and the beginning of a depression was on the horizon. The huge Austin factory at Longbridge, south of Birmingham, was one of many in trouble. In fact, it went into receivership in April 1921, having gone from employing 22,000 people in 1919 to just 8,000 in 1922. So, it was not surprising, therefore, that the board initially refused the Managing Director Sir Herbert Austin (later Lord Austin: 1866-1941) any funds for the development of a new small car, as they feared that the additional expenditure could result in the demise of the Austin factory.

Having been refused the necessary finances by the directors, Sir Herbert Austin decided to do it anyway, and enlisted the services of a talented designer, Stanley Edge (1903-1989), who was at the time only 18 years old, and a draughtsman at the factory. Sir Herbert drew up the initial concept on the billiard table at his home in Lickey Grange, near the factory, and he and Stanley Edge worked there to complete the design.

As we will see in the next few posts, there were many variants of the Austin Seven. Between 1922 and 1939, it is estimated that 290,904 Austin Sevens were manufactured. If you include those made overseas and chassis provided to other manufacturers, the figure goes up to about 416,000.

One of the popular variants was the Austin Seven Nippy. The one in the museum collection (shown above) is a 1935 model. Although it was not an out-and-out racer, it was an attractive, low-cost entry into the sports car market. Its 21bhp engine, it was claimed, would propel the car to speeds of 65mph and return around 40 to 45mpg (although probably not simultaneously).

Whilst not aimed at the serious racer, its big attraction to anyone wishing to enter the sports car market was the price tag of just £142.