Austin 7 A 30 SP

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The Austin Motor Company Limited (1905-1987) was an English manufacturer of cars, military vehicles, london taxis, ambulances, commercial vehicles and aircrafts, founded in 1905 by Herbert Austin (1866-1941) in an abandoned print works at Longbridge in Birmingham. Herbert Austin was already a main employee at Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company which founded Frederick Wolseley (1837-1899) in Australia, and the main company business was clipping wool from sheep's back. While running business in Wolseley company, Austin built three cars in his free time from 1895-1899. Austin's largest problem was funds for producing cars, so he got help from brothers Thomas (1833-1915) and Albert Vicker (1838-1919), steel magnate Frank Kayser, and director of Dunlop Rubber Company, William Harvey du Cros (1846-1918). However, Austin's great rival, William Morris (1877-1963), was able to enter the industry (he first repaired cars) a little later funding his operation entirely from his own resources. Austin's cars, like Wolseley's, were luxury vehicles. In the early 1930s, company Datsun later known as Nissan Motor Company of Japan built cars infringing Austin patents. From 1934 Datsun began to build Austin Sevens under licence and this operation became the greatest success of Austin's overseas licensing of its Seven. Nissan produced 20,855 Austins and marketed them between 1953 and 1959. In 1952 Austin Company was merged with Morris Motors Limited in the new holding company British Motor Corporation (BMC) Limited, whose director was Leonard Lord (1896-1967). Also in 1952, Austin did a deal with Donald Healey (1898-1988), the renowned automotive engineer. It led to a new marque, Austin-Healey, and a range of sports cars. With the threat to fuel supplies resulting from the 1956 Suez Crisis, director of BMC, Leonard Lord asked Alec Issigonis (1906-1988), who had been with Morris from 1936 to 1952, to design a small car; the result was the revolutionary Mini, launched in 1959. In 1966, BMC completed the purchase of Jaguar and in December 1966 changed its name from BMC to BMH, British Motor Holdings Limited. In early 1968 under government pressure, BMH merged with company Leyland Motors Limited and Austin became a part of the large British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC).  In 1987, the Austin badge was discontinued and Austin Rover became simply the Rover Group.