Austin 16 hp

Infobox Automobile


name = Austin 16HP
manufacturer = Austin Motor Company
production = 1945-1949
35,434 made
body_style = 4-door saloon
estate
engine = 2199 cc 4 cylinder overhead-valve
67 bhpcite book |last=Culshaw |first= |authorlink= |coauthors=Horrobin |title=Complete Catalogue of British Cars |year=1974 |publisher=Macmillan |location=London |id=ISBN 0-333-16689-2]
length = Auto in|171|0)
width = Auto in|67|0
height =
weight = Auto lb|2968|0
wheelbase = Auto in|104.5|0cite book |last=Culshaw |first= |authorlink= |coauthors=Horrobin |title=Complete Catalogue of British Cars |year=1974 |publisher=Macmillan |location=London |id=ISBN 0-333-16689-2]
track = Auto in|56|0
transmission = 4-speed manual
predecessor = Austin 18
successor = Austin A70The Austin 16HP was the first 'new' car to be produced by the Austin Motor Company following the Second World War. Apart from the name, it shared nothing with the pre war Austin 16.

Whilst it used a brand new 4 cylinder 2199 cc, overhead-valve engine - the first to be used in an Austin car, it in fact used the pre-war body from the Austin 12, which continued to be produced, alongside the other pre-war saloons the the 8 hp and the 10 hp. The 'hp' (short for horsepower) was not a true reflection of the power of the vehicle, instead it was the result of a calculation to determine the excise duty (road tax) payable for the vehicle. The engine in fact produced Auto bhp|67|0 at 3800 rpm. The car shared a number of features in common with the famed London Taxi, one of which was the built-in hydraulic jacking system operated from a pump located under the bonnet.

The 16 hp had a healthy turn of speed for its day with a maximum quoted speed of Auto mph|75|0. In the bitterly cold winter of 1947 Alan Hess and a team of drivers with 3 Austin 16 hp vehicles undertook a publicity run on behalf of the Austin Motor Company to visit seven Northern European Capitals in seven days. Despite extraordinary travel difficulties caused by heavy snow, the vehicles completed the adventure successfully, and the story is related in Alan Hess's book, "Gullible's Travels".

References

External links

* [http://www.austincounties.org.uk/ The Austin Counties Car Club]