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
Wheelbase 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
