Austin Atlantic

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See also Austin Westminster, also sold as the A90

Austin Atlantic
Manufacturer	BMC
Production	1949-1952 7981 made
Body style	FR 2-door saloon 2-door convertible
Wheelbase	96 inches (2.44 m)
Length	177 inches (4.49 m)
Width	70 inches (1.77 m)

The A90 Atlantic produced by the Austin Motor Company was launched initially as a sporting four seat convertible and made its bow at the 1948 Earls Court Motor Show, with production models built between spring 1949 and late 1950. The two door sports coupé followed a year later, previewed at the 1949 Motor Show and models rolling off the lines at Longbridge between 1950 and 1952. It was one of the first post-war cars engineered from scratch by Austin and was said to be styled from a thumbnail sketch by non other than Leonard P. Lord, then Chairman of Austin and later BMC, though in truth the styling was more likely the work of resident Italian Austin stylist Dick Burzi. The car was almost certainly influenced by a 1946 Pinin Farina bodied Alfa Romeo cabriolet, which just happened to end up at the Longbridge factory in mid 1947, a few months before the light blue '16 hp' sports prototype made its first appearance in the experimental department and on nearby roads around the factory - Lickey Hill and Rose Hill being popular routes for chief tester George Coates.

With the then Government edict of 'Export of die' and steel allocated only to those who generated much needed Dollar revenue, the Atlantic was designed specifically to appeal to American tastes. The car featured up to the minute detailing front wings that swept down to a rounded tail with enclosed rear wheels, a centrally mounted foglight built into the letter box style air intake (no grille!) and unheard of luxury in the form of hydraulically powered windows and hood, 'flashing indicators' (for the American market at least) and the option of a radio, made by Ecko. The range topping Austin was offered in a variety of 'jewelescent' colours and in British terms at least, no-one had really seen anything like the futuristically styled Atlantic before and not from a conservative main stream manufacturer like Austin in any event. Only the Walter Belgrove styled Triumph TRX had anything like the 'wow factor' of the Atlantic and that never went beyond a handful of prototypes. Had it not been for the launch that same year of the stunning Jaguar XK120, things may have been a little brighter for the poor Atlantic on the other side of the pond at least until other manufacturers had got their act together with new post war designs to tempt dollars.

Despite huge focus by Austin in the US (including a successful attempt at breaking a series of stock car records at the Indianapolis 'Brickyard' in April 1949 by Austin PRO Alan Hess, Charles Goodacre and Dennis Buckley), only about 350 of the 7981 produced were sold in the United States and even a $1000 price reduction didn't see many owners trading in their Cadillacs or Packards as they felt the big four cylinder engine couldn't compare in power output to their native V8's - though for its time, performance was strong, with a top speed of 92 mph (with the wind blowing in the right direction, brave owners have seen 100 mph) and a 0-50 mph time of 11.2 seconds. The 88 bhp engine later saw service in the Austin Healey 100, which ironically was a great success in the US.

The car did see more success in former British Colonies, Europe, Scandinavia and Australasia, where a number of cars were sold and indeed survive to this day and of the total production run, roughly half were exported. The handling, however was poor, due to a combination of comparatively short wheelbase and rudimentary springing with ifs and leaf springs at the rear. The underpinnings were somewhat less exotic than the all enveloping bodywork - the chassis and running gear were based on that of the 1949 Austin Hampshire saloon and that had been based on the entry level Devon from 1947. Prototypes were afflicted with such terrible scuttle shake that the car was almost pulled from production at the eleventh hour and only a last minute fix of a boxed chassis section resolved the situation.

Typical fuel consumption was heavy compared to other cars of the time at 21 (imperial) mpg - and remember petrol was rationed for much of the lifespan of the Atlantic. Brakes were initially a mix of hydraulic (front) and mechanical (rear) replaced by a fully hydraulic set up from 1951.

A combination of zero rust proofing at the factory and styling that invited a multitude of mud traps led to the same rapid corrosion as beset many rushed post-war British designs. As a result, sadly very few cars survived into the 1960's, let alone the next century - a fact not helped by many cars being broken up to provide spares for the Austin Healey 100. In the UK today, it is estimated that less than 30 roadworthy examples survive, with possibly the same number being restored or awaiting restoration. One remarkable example seen on Edinburgh streets well into the 1970's was an estate used by a local convent; built in the style of the Morris Traveller this car had external wood framing and stylish Perspex panoramic windows in the style of the Land-Rover Discovery. This car was possibly a home made conversion or perhaps one of the now extinct ED Abbott bodied cars, produced in the mid 50's.

--Leeandrewmarshall 00:02, 20 March 2007 (UTC)