Sir Herbert Austin decided, after several years with Wolseley, to start
manufacture his own car. This he achieved with the launch in April 1906.
While Austin offered a number of different models, their compact Austin
Seven launched in 1922 with a 696cc (later increased to 747cc) four
cylinder motor became an instant success. Production lasted till 1939, by
which time a remarkable 290’000 units had been sold.
Various other models followed, but in 1959 Austin managed to come up with
another winner, the 848cc Mini. A sports version was launched with the name
Mini Cooper, on which the engine size was upgraded slowly to peak at 1275cc.
Production of the Mini stopped in 2000.
In 1952 the company launched the by Donald Healey developed Austin Healey
sports car which was to achieve some 74000 unit sales. This was followed
by a smaller spider named Austin Healey Sprite, launched in 1958 with a 948cc
motor. By 1968 Austin joined the British Leyland Group.
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