HERBERT AUSTIN

There were more than 290,000 Austin Sevens produced between 1922 and 1939 and a further 100,000 built under license by other manufacturers including BMW Datsun & Bantam. The car did for the British market what the Ford Model T did for the American market introducing motoring to the masses in an affordable form.

In the beginning the competition was from the motorcycle combinations that proliferated in the early years of the 20th century but the small car won through and made its presence felt on both the roads and racetrack. The story of the Austin Seven begins with Herbert Austin:

Herbert Austin was born at Little Missenden in Buckinghamshire on 8th November 1866 and brought up in Yorkshire. After attending Rotherham Grammar School he moved on to Brampton Commercial College and then emigrated to Australia aged 17. In Australia he worked for an engineering company with his uncle Walter and married Helen Dron, the daughter of Scottish emigrants on 26th December 1887.