Austin
A90 Atlantic
A90
Convertible
A90
Hardtop
Smooth
lines at the Rear
Austin
A90 Atlantic
Date
when launched 1948 Discontinued in 1952
Total produced 7,981
Engine
2,660 cc 88 bhp at 4,000 rpm Max torque 140lbs/ft at 2,500
rpm
Length
14ft 9.1ins Width 5ft 10ins Height 5ft 1ins
Wheel
Base 8ft 0ins Track front 4ft 5.5ins rear 4ft 7.5ins
Price
ex Works
Sept 1949 £888 April 1952 £1431
So how did this
car evolve with its unusual design for the period. After the War
the Government were encouraging industry to export to America to
earn dollars to pay of the national debt. The motor industry along
with Austin had rise to the challenge, but they were only the tried
and tested saloons.
Leonard Lord thought that he could increase sales if he produced a
sports car as this would widen the range he could offer to the
America market. It needed as we would say today the wow factor so
it would have plenty of chrome and have a streamline shape. To keep
costs down it would use the current mechanical components from the
A70. Although the basic shape was drawn by Leonard Lord it was Dick
Burzi who had to translate it into proper drawings. It appears that
this project was give top priority as it had become Lord's little
baby. One cause for concern was in the line of the bonnet, as it
was impossible to follow the original lines because of fouling the
air cleaner. Leonard Lord insisted that a solution must be found,
so a new air cleaner was designed that went along side the rocker
box, and this was one reason why it used SU carbs instead of the
down-draught Zeniths.
A90
Atlantic Prototype
Note
the following, split screen, no door handles (doors released by a
foot pedal, rear of door by the sill) Austin of England badge on
the L/H side (bonnet) no badge on the side
The
original prototype had a spilt screen along with other features
that were changed in the production version, it was known in the
works as the 16 hp sports. Because of the curvature of the
windscreen it was impossible to obtain curved glass at the time, so
the light blue prototype had a Perspex one instead. It was in July
1948 that having been run-in round the local roads it set off along
with a A70 Hampshire prototype across Europe, returning back in
about three weeks with over 5,000 miles on the clock. The chassis
was based on the A70 along with most of the other mechanical
components. This did tend to compromise the ride and handling of
the vehicle.
The car was the
star of the Austin stand for the 1948 Earls Court Motor Show, this
was the first show for ten years, because of the war. I am sure as
it took centre stage it must have caused quite a stir, this was a
car that fulfilled very little boy's dream. The car was billed as a
car for those wanting sports car performance with saloon car
comfort. At the time it included as standard adjustable steering
column a EKCO radio along with a heater. By the touch of a switch
the hood could be open or closed in under 25 sec which turn out to
be not always reliable, because the hood when down took up a lot of
room it did restrict the room for the rear passagers. To give room
for three people on the front seat it was necessary to have a
pistol hand brake and a column gear change, not the best way to
change gears on a vehicle that was trying to create the sporting
image.
To make an impact on the American market Alan Hess decided that
they need to show that this car with a four cylinder engine was
quite capable of competing with the normal six cylinder engines of
the day. So the plan was to go to the Indianapolis Speedway Track
and go and break the American stock car records. After a few
teething troubles it managed to capture in total 126 records over
the seven days
Indianapolis
Record Breaker
The
hard-top Atlantic, or Sports saloon as it was also called, made its
debut at the 1949 Earl's Court Motor Show, this model gave greater
room in the back, and ventilation was improved as the centre
section of the rear window could be wound down, which was quite a
novel idea. Over the life of the car the production figures
showered that it was evenly divided between the convertible and
hard top.
The very market that the model had been designed for America,
seamed very reluctant to buy them with only 350 been delivered. To
improve the sales it was decided to reduce the price by $1,000 but
this still did not revive the sales. One of the best market turned
out to be Australia were 821 were imported.
Perhaps they
should have called it by another name, this use of names is
interesting, because when the Rover 800 was imported into the
States it was called the Sterling, and that suffered the same fate
as the Atlantic.
The
Last A90 Atlantic Body going down the Line
Final
Assemble
