Austin 16 hp

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Austin 16HP

Manufacturer	Austin Motor Company
Production	1945-1949 35,434 made
Predecessor	Austin 18
Successor	Austin A70
Body style(s)	4-door saloon estate
Engine(s)	2199 cc 4 cylinder overhead-valve 67 bhp^[1]
Transmission(s)	4-speed manual
Wheelbase	104.5 in (2654 mm)^[1]
Length	171 in (4343 mm))
Width	67 in (1702 mm)
Curb weight	2968 lb (1346 kg)

The 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 67 bhp (50 kW) at 3800 rpm.

The 16 hp had a healthy turn of speed for its day with a maximum quoted speed of 75 mph (121 km/h). 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.