Lot 27: Austin 20/4 DUAL COWL SPORTS TOURER

Following the armistice, as motor car production slowly got back into its stride, Austin was to announce a new single model policy. A new 20hp car was built, largely influenced by Herbert Austin's previous ownership of a Hudson, as he had admired this manufacturer's robust qualities. Built on essentially American lines, the Austin 20 featured a unitary engine and gearbox in a sturdy ladder chassis and was available with a variety of different styles of coachwork, built both in-house or from outside suppliers, encompassing everything from formal limousines, tourers, sporting variants and commercial vehicles. The 3.6-litre engine was utterly reliable and of conventional design, whilst its torque characteristics were to prove legendary. Sporting variants of the Austin 20 soon made their mark with several achieving great successes at Brooklands; however, the 20hp model was to be Austin's undoing, proving unsuitable for the prevailing economic climate immediately after the Great War, and the company was forced into receivership although was saved by the timely introduction of the 12/4 model in 1921  this being effectively a scaled down '20'. Ultimate salvation was to come with the advent of the Austin Seven, which appeared the following season. The sporting Austin 20s were a familiar sight at Brooklands, one particularly famous car being Felix Scriven's 'Sergeant Murphy', which lapped the circuit at an average of 83.5mph in 1921, whilst a works car, driven by Captain Arthur Waite, (Herbert Austin's son-in-law), was officially timed at 98.04mph in the 1922 Easter 90mph Long Handicap. Another works car, which had originally been prepared for sand racing, was to lap at over 91mph in a similar event. By the end of the 1924 season, Scriven was to increase his lap averages to 93.97mph, eventually increasing this to a highly creditable 94.86mph at a 1925 Whitsun meet, on one occasion the car being timed on the Railway Straight at an impressive 104mph. The 4-cylinder Austin 20 was to continue in production until 1929, long after it had exceeded its prime, and was beloved by the carriage trade, with many of these fine cars surviving well into the 1950s, working hard for a living. It was not uncommon for 20hp hearses to be in service some forty years after the model's introduction. The example offered here is currently the oldest running Austin 20 known to the Vintage Austin Register. It was originally exported to Australia with a touring body and used as a demonstrator by Lanes Motor Pty Ltd in Melbourne. Little is known after this time until the remains of the car were discovered and re-imported to the UK around 1990. An extensive mechanical restoration was duly undertaken and a new replica 4-seat sporting dual cowl touring body was fitted, and the car was subsequently re-registered in 1993. Since that time it has had three owners, all of whom have been long-standing VAR members, and it is only offered for sale now due to the poor health of the current custodian who sadly is no longer able to drive. Since the previous owner purchased the car from the restorer in 1997, it has covered some 20,000 miles, which have included several continental trips and rallies in this country, and during this time it has proved utterly dependable in true Austin fashion. Around ten years ago new weather equipment, including a tonneau cover and hood bag, were fitted and the wooden artillery wheels were rebuilt. In 2002, an overdrive unit was fitted, making long-distance touring considerably more relaxing. The car starts easily, maintains good oil pressure and is reported to be in generally very good mechanical condition and has the advantage of a coil conversion. The paintwork and royal blue leather upholstery are also in pleasing, serviceable condition. This imposing sporting tourer, possessed of considerable charm and presence, will happily cruise all day at 45-50mph and is offered with a number of spare parts including radiator shell, spare wheels and rear axle. A comprehensive file including bills, previous MOT certificates, tax discs back to 1993, correct owner's handbook, spare parts list, a photocopy of 'The Austin Service Journal' and photocopied articles from 'The Motor' and 'The Automobile' are also supplied, as is an MOT certificate valid until 15th July 2008.