Austin A70

Austin A70 Hampshire/Hereford
Austin A70 Hereford
Overview
Manufacturer	Austin
Production	1948–54
Assembly	United Kingdom Melbourne, Australia
Layout	FR layout
Powertrain
Engine	2199 cc Straight-4
Chronology
Predecessor	Austin 16 hp
Successor	A90 Westminster

A70 Hampshire
Austin A70 Hampshire
Overview
Also called	Austin A70 Countryman Austin A70 Pick-up
Production	1948–1950
Body and chassis
Body style	4-door saloon 2-door estate 2-door pickup
Dimensions
Wheelbase	96 in (2,438 mm)
Length	163 in (4,140 mm)

A70 Hereford
Austin A70 Hereford
Overview
Also called	Austin A70 Countryman Austin A70 Coupe Austin A70 Pick-up
Production	1950–1954
Assembly	United Kingdom Australia
Body and chassis
Body style	4-door saloon 2-door estate 2-door convertible 2-door pickup
Dimensions
Wheelbase	99 in (2,515 mm)
Length	167.5 in (4,254 mm)
Width	69.5 in (1,765 mm)
Height	65.5 in (1,660 mm)

The Austin A70 Hampshire and later Austin A70 Hereford are cars that were produced by Austin of Britain from 1948 until 1954. They were conventional body-on-frame cars with similar styling to the smaller A40 Devon and A40 Somerset models respectively. 85,682 were built.

Most first generation A70s were Hampshire 4-door saloons, though some estate and pickup truck versions were also produced as the A70 Countryman and A70 Pick-up respectively. The 2.2 L (2199 cc) straight-4 pushrod engine provided the same power output, at 67 bhp (50 kW), as it had when installed in the earlier Austin 16 hp. The new car was nevertheless lighter and published acceleration and top speed figures were correspondingly brisker. Accelerating from 0-80 km/h (50 mph) took 14.5 seconds and the maximum speed was 83.3 mph (134.1 km/h).

Production of the model ended in 1950 with 35,261 being built. In 1950 the UK price was £648, which included the heater.

Austin A70 Hampshire 1948-50

Austin A70 Pick-up

The A70 Hereford replaced the Hampshire in 1950 and was wider and slightly longer with an extra 3 inches (76 mm) in the wheelbase. A new addition to the range was the A70 Coupe, a 2-door convertible with coachwork by Carbodies of Coventry. A notable mechanical change was the use of hydraulic brakes. The smaller A40 Somerset had similar styling and even shared the same door panels.

The car retained the 2199cc 4-cylinder engine first seen officially in 1945 on the Austin 16. Performance was adequate by the standards of the time, but the car was not particularly quiet, and an magazine road test in 1950 reported a "small vibration at about 40 m.p.h. on the overrun" on their test car. Austin had given a lead after the war in equipping their cars with interior heaters at no extra cost, and the Hereford came fitted with "the latest Smiths fresh-air installation" as standard equipment. The road tester found the heater, like the engine and indeed the windscreen wipers, "rather noisy in operation", however.