Austin A70
Encyclopedia
The Austin A70 Hampshire and later Austin A70 Hereford are large cars
which were produced by the Austin Motor Company
of Britain from 1948 until 1954. They were conventional body-on-frame
cars with similar styling to the smaller A40 Devon
and A40 Somerset
models respectively.
and pickup
versions were also built. The 2.2 L (2199 cc) straight-4
pushrod engine provided the same power output, at 67 bhp, as it had when installed in the earlier Austin 16 hp
. The new car was nevertheless lighter, and probably also benefited from reduced wind resistance: published acceleration and top speed figures were correspondingly brisker. Accelerating from 0 - 80 kilometre per hour took 14.5 seconds and the maximum speed was 83.3 mi/h.
Production of the A70 Hampshire model ended in 1950 with just over 35,000 built. In 1950 the UK price was £648 which included the heater.
with coachwork by Carbodies
of Coventry. A notable mechanical change was the use of hydraulic brakes. The smaller A40 Somerset
had similar styling and even shared the same door panels. Sales were slow, with just over 50,000 produced when the A90 Westminster
replaced it in 1954. A rare variant was the Hereford pickup
. This shared the same platform as the estate, but with fully faired bodywork aft of the driving cab. The interior of this rather plush workhorse was the same as the saloon, with a large split-bench seat, and full instrumentation set in the middle for easy completion whether for left- or right-hand drive.
An A70 tested by the British magazine The Motor
in 1951 had a top speed of 80.5 mph (129.6 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (96.6 km/h) in 21.4 seconds. A fuel consumption of 21.9 mpgimp was recorded. The test car cost £911 including taxes.
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...
which were produced 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...
of Britain from 1948 until 1954. They were conventional 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...
cars with similar styling to the smaller A40 Devon
Austin A40 Devon
The A40 Devon were automobiles marketed by the Austin Motor Company from 1947 to 1952 – the first post-war saloons to be produced by Austin – featuring a mix of old and new technologies...
and 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...
models respectively.
A70 Hampshire
Most Hampshires were 4-door saloons, though some estateStation 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...
and pickup
Pickup truck
A pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area .-Definition:...
versions were also built. The 2.2 L (2199 cc) 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....
pushrod engine provided the same power output, at 67 bhp, as it had when installed in the earlier Austin 16 hp
Austin 16 hp
thumb|right|280px|1946 Austin Sixteen BS1, The 1 millionth Austin producedThe Austin 16HP was the first 'new' car to be produced by the Austin Motor Company following the Second World War...
. The new car was nevertheless lighter, and probably also benefited from reduced wind resistance: published acceleration and top speed figures were correspondingly brisker. Accelerating from 0 - 80 kilometre per hour took 14.5 seconds and the maximum speed was 83.3 mi/h.
Production of the A70 Hampshire model ended in 1950 with just over 35,000 built. In 1950 the UK price was £648 which included the heater.
A70 Hereford
The A70 Hereford replaced the Hampshire in 1950 and was wider and slightly longer with an extra 3 inches (76.2 mm) in the wheelbase. A new addition to the range of body styles was a 2-door convertibleConvertible
A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away having windows which wind-down inside the doors, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle...
with coachwork by Carbodies
Carbodies
Carbodies LImited is a British company based at Holyhead Road, Coventry. It started business as a coachbuilder, and now, as The London Taxi Company is best known for its production of London taxicabs.-History:...
of Coventry. A notable mechanical change was the use of hydraulic brakes. The smaller 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...
had similar styling and even shared the same door panels. Sales were slow, with just over 50,000 produced when the A90 Westminster
Austin Westminster
The Westminster series were large saloon and estate cars sold by the British Austin Motor Company from 1954, replacing the A70 Hereford. The Westminster line was produced as the A90, A95, A99, A105, and A110 until 1968 when the new Austin 3-Litre took its place...
replaced it in 1954. A rare variant was the Hereford pickup
Pickup truck
A pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area .-Definition:...
. This shared the same platform as the estate, but with fully faired bodywork aft of the driving cab. The interior of this rather plush workhorse was the same as the saloon, with a large split-bench seat, and full instrumentation set in the middle for easy completion whether for left- or right-hand drive.
An A70 tested by the British magazine The Motor
The Motor (magazine)
The Motor was a British weekly car magazine founded on 28 January 1903....
in 1951 had a top speed of 80.5 mph (129.6 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (96.6 km/h) in 21.4 seconds. A fuel consumption of 21.9 mpgimp was recorded. The test car cost £911 including taxes.
External links
- "A70 Hampshire/Hereford", Austin Memories
- "Owners' club", Austin Counties Car Club