See Austin A40

Austin A40

A number of different automobiles were marketed under the Austin A40 name by the Austin Motor Company between 1947 and 1967.Austin's naming scheme at that time derived from the approximate engine output, in horsepower...

 for other A40 models and Austin A40 Sports

Austin A40 Sports

See Austin A40 for other A40 models.The Austin A40 Sports debuted at the 1949 London Motor Show as a four-passenger, aluminium-bodied convertible version of the Austin A40 — carrying an Austin of England nameplate, bearing the marque's Flying A hood ornament, and designed and manufactured in...

 for the sports car version of the Devon.

The A40 Devon (and similar 2-door A40 Dorset) were automobile

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

s marketed by the Austin Motor Company

Austin Motor Company

The Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...

 from 1947 to 1952 – the first post-war

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 saloons to be produced by Austin – featuring a mix of old and new technologies. Austin manufactured more than 450,000 examples before replacement in 1952 by the Austin A40 Somerset

Austin A40 Somerset

The A40 Somerset is an automobile sold by the Austin Motor Company from 1952 until 1954. It replaced the A40 Devon and was quite similar to that body-on-frame car, including using the same 1.2 L straight-4 pushrod engine...

.

Mechanicals and bodystyles

Both the Devon and Dorset were body-on-frame

Body-on-frame

Body-on-frame is an automobile construction method. Mounting a separate body to a rigid frame that supports the drivetrain was the original method of building automobiles, and its use continues to this day. The original frames were made of wood , but steel ladder frames became common in the 1930s...

 designs with modern bodies and a 1.2 L straight-4

Straight-4

The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....

 OHV engine producing 40 bhp at 4200 rpm. They also featured front coil sprung independent suspension

Independent suspension

Independent suspension is a broad term for any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically independently of each other. This is contrasted with a beam axle, live axle or deDion axle system in which the wheels are linked – movement on one side affects...

 but retained a rigid axle and semi elliptic leaf springs at the rear. The Girling brakes with 9 in (229 mm) drums were operated hydraulically at the front and mechanically at the rear. Later cars had column operated gear change and full hydraulic braking. A sliding sunroof and heater were extra cost options on the UK market.

The Devon was the 4-door version and was more successful than the 2-door Dorset, which was dropped in 1949 after only 15,939 were made.

The "Countryman" estate

Station wagon

A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...

 was produced up until 1956. A van and pickup truck

Pickup truck

A pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area .-Definition:...

 were also produced.

A prototype A40 Dorset Tourer was built at Longbridge in 1948. Although it was never put into production in England, various versions of the A40 Tourer were made in Australia beginning in September 1948.

Performance

A car tested by The Motor

The Motor (magazine)

The Motor was a British weekly car magazine founded on 28 January 1903....

 magazine in 1948 had a top speed of 70 mph (112.7 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (96.6 km/h) in 37.2 seconds. A fuel consumption of 34.1 mpgimp was recorded. The test car, which had the optional sliding roof, cost £505 including taxes.

Austin A40 Sports

As one in a series of collaborations between Austin and Jensen Motors

Jensen Motors

Jensen Motors Ltd was a British manufacturer of sports cars and commercial vehicles, based in the Lyng – West Bromwich...

 of West Bromwich

West Bromwich

West Bromwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England. It is north west of Birmingham lying on the A41 London-to-Birkenhead road. West Bromwich is part of the Black Country...

, the A40 Sports originated when Austin's Chairman Leonard Lord

Leonard Lord

Leonard Percy Lord, 1st Baron Lambury KBE was a captain of the British motor industry.-Background and education:...

, upon seeing the Jensen Interceptor

Jensen Interceptor (1950)

The first generation of Jensen Interceptor was the second car to be made by Jensen Motors after World War II and was produced from 1950 to 1957. Jensen later reused the name for a different car ....

, requested that Jensen develop a body that could use the Austin A40 Devon mechanicals. The center section of the chassis was boxed to provide rigidity

Backbone chassis

Backbone tube chassis is a type of an automobile construction chassis that is similar to the body-on-frame design. Instead of a two-dimensional ladder type structure, it consists of a strong tubular backbone that connects the front and rear suspension attachment areas...

 for the open body, and the A40 Sports also employed a twin-SU carburetored version of the 1.2 L engine producing 46 bhp rather than 42 bhp. During production, A40 Sports bodies were built by Jensen and transported to Austin's Longbridge plant

Longbridge plant

The Longbridge plant is an industrial complex situated in the Longbridge area of Birmingham, United Kingdom. It is currently owned by SAIC Group and is a manufacturing and research and development facility for its MG Motor subsidiary....

for final assembly, with approximately 4,011 examples manufactured.

External links

• Austin Counties Car Club—Owners club website
• Austin Memories—History of Austin and Longbridge
• Video of 1948 Austin Devon Drag-car Testing
• Video of 1948 Austin Devon dragster