Austin FX4

Austin FX4
1962 Austin FX4
Overview
Manufacturer	British Motor Corporation (1958-1968) British Leyland (1968-1982) Carbodies/LTI (1982-1997)
Production	1958–1997
Body and chassis
Body style	2-door funeral 4-door saloon
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,810 mm (110.6 in)
Length	4,570 mm (179.9 in)
Width	1,740 mm (68.5 in)
Height	1,770 mm (69.7 in)
Curb weight	1,600 kg (3,527 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor	Austin FX3
Successor	LTI TX1

The Austin FX4 is a taxicab that was produced from 1958 until 1997. It was sold by Austin from 1958 until 1982, when Carbodies, who had been producing the FX4 for Austin, took over the intellectual rights to the car. They continued production until 1984 when London Taxis International took over the rights to the FX4 - and they produced it until 1997. In all, more than 75,000 FX4s were built.

The FX4 London taxi was the successor to the Austin FX3, which was produced between 1948 and 1958. In its day the FX3 was the most widely used taxi in London. Like the FX3, the FX4 was designed by Austin in collaboration with Mann & Overton, the London taxi dealership that commissioned it (and paid for half of its cost) and Carbodies, the coachbuilder that built the body and assembled the cab ready for sale. The design team included Albert Moore from Austin’s engineering division, Jack Hellberg from Carbodies and David Southwell of Mann & Overton. The original design was by Austin’s Eric Bailey and it was engineered for production by Carbodies' Jake Donaldson. It would be the first London taxi to go into production that had four doors, since earlier London taxis had featured a luggage platform, open to the elements, on the pavement/sidewalk side at the front of the cabin, beside the driver's compartment.

Like the FX3, the FX4 had a separate chassis, but with independent front suspension and dual-circuit hydraulic brakes. The first FX4, registration number VLW 431, was delivered in July 1958 and went on test with York Way Motors. The official launch was later that year at the Commercial Motor Exhibition.

The first model of FX4 was fitted with a 2178 cc Austin diesel engine and a Borg-Warner automatic transmission. In 1961, the manual transmission from the Austin Gipsy was available as an option. From 1962, the Austin 2199 cc petrol engine was available. However, almost all FX4 taxis were fitted with a diesel engine and, until the mid-1970s most had a manual transmission.

In 1969, the cab was altered, to offer a new version in place of the abandoned replacement model and to amend some shortcomings of the original. The original Austins were provided with small rear stop and taillights and roof-mounted turn indicators, commonly known as "bunny ears". On the revised model, the rear wings were modified to accept the taillights and turn indicators from the MkII Austin 1100/1300. Front indicators were also provided below the headlights and repeater indicators fitted to the front wings. The "bunny ears" were abandoned. The interior was also changed, with black vinyl seats and an altered partition to give the driver more legroom.

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Wikipedia