*** Welcome to piglix ***

Austin Twenty

Austin Twenty
Austin circa 1920 3851581011.jpg
Twenty Allweather coupé 1919
Overview
Manufacturer Austin
Also called Austin 20/4 (from 1927)
Production April 1919–1930
15,287 produced
Assembly Longbridge plant, Birmingham
Body and chassis
Body style saloon, tourer, coupé, landaulette
16-cwt light van
Powertrain
Engine 3,610 cc (220 cu in) Straight-4
Transmission single-plate clutch; four-speed gearbox; propeller shaft to back axle with helical-bevel gearing
Dimensions
Wheelbase 130 in (3,300 mm)
Chronology
Predecessor new
Successor Austin 20/6
Austin Twenty engine
4
Overview
Manufacturer Austin
Production April 1919–1929
Combustion chamber
Configuration Straight 4-cylinder
Displacement 3,610 cc (220 cu in)
Cylinder bore 95 mm (3.7 in)
Piston stroke 127 mm (5.0 in)
Cylinder block alloy cast iron, alloy crankcase
Cylinder head alloy detachable
Combustion
Fuel system ignition by magneto
Fuel type petrol
Oil system lubrication by forced feed
Cooling system cooling water is pump circulated
Output
Power output 45 bhp (34 kW; 46 PS) @2,000 rpm
Tax horsepower 22.38
Chronology
Successor Austin 20/6
Austin Twenty
Austin nine - Flickr - Terry Wha.jpg
Twenty six-cylinder landaulette by Gordon c.1927 3.4-litre
Overview
Production May 1928—mid 1932
Body and chassis
Body style saloon, limousine
Powertrain
Engine 3,397 cc (207 cu in) Straight-six
or
3,610 cc (220 cu in) Straight-4
Transmission single-plate clutch; four-speed and reverse gearbox; propellor shaft to back axle with helical-bevel gearing
Dimensions
Wheelbase Ranelagh 136 in (3,454 mm)
Mayfair 130 in (3,302 mm)
Whitehall 120 in (3,048 mm)
Carlton 120 in (3,048 mm)
Track 56 in (1,422 mm)
Kerb weight 36 long cwt (4,032 lb; 1,829 kg)
Chronology
Predecessor Austin 20
Successor Austin 20/6
Austin Six engine
20 / 6
Overview
Production October 1926—mid 1938
Combustion chamber
Configuration Straight 6-cylinder
Displacement 3,397 cc (207 cu in)
Cylinder bore 79.35 mm (3.124 in)
Piston stroke 114.5 mm (4.51 in)
Cylinder block alloy a separate casting from the head and crankcase. crankshaft is carried in 8 bearings
Cylinder head alloy detachable, pistons are aluminium
Valvetrain side-valves are on the nearside of the block. tappets are automatically lubricated. timing is as the back of the engine.
Combustion
Fuel system dual carburettor, fed by gravity from vacuum tank on dash. manifold provides heating for the mixture Fuel feed by Autovac
Fuel type petrol
Oil system forced feed
Cooling system Radiator is within an external shell, fan is operated by belt and there is a pump to force circulation of water There is an adjustable thermostat
Output
Power output 49 bhp (37 kW; 50 PS) @2,000 rpm
58 bhp (43 kW; 59 PS) @2,600 rpm
Tax horsepower 23.42
Chronology
Predecessor Austin 20/4
Successor Austin 28
Austin Twenty
1935 Austin 20 6 Ranelagh 2.1 4379320799.jpg
Ranelagh 20/6 limousine 1935
Overview
Production August 1932—mid 1934
Body and chassis
Body style saloon, limousine
Powertrain
Engine 3,397 cc (207 cu in) Straight-six
Chronology
Predecessor Austin 20/6
Successor Austin 20/6
Austin Twenty
Austin Six registered December 1936 3377 cc.JPG
Ranelagh 20/6 limousine 1936
Overview
Production August 1934—mid 1938
Body and chassis
Body style saloon, limousine
Powertrain
Engine 3,397 cc (207 cu in) Straight-six
Dimensions
Wheelbase 136 in (3,500 mm)
track 57.25 in (1,454 mm)
Length 199 in (5,100 mm)
Width 70.5 in (1,790 mm)
Height 76 in (1,900 mm)
Chronology
Predecessor Austin 20
Successor Austin 28
Austin Twenty-Eight
Otrebusy4 DSC1449.JPG
Ranelagh 28 limousine 1939
Overview
Production July 1938 – September 1939
Quantity 300 (sold)
1938—138
1939—152
1940—10
Body and chassis
Body style saloon, limousine
Powertrain
Engine 4,016 cc (245 cu in) Straight-six
Dimensions
Wheelbase 136 in (3,454 mm)
Track front: 58 in (1,473 mm)
Track rear: 60 in (1,524 mm)
Kerb weight
39 long cwt (4,368 lb; 1,981 kg)
Chronology
Predecessor Austin 20
Successor Austin Sheerline
Austin 28 engine
Combustion chamber
Configuration Straight 6-cylinder
Displacement 4,016 cc (245 cu in)
Cylinder bore 86.36 mm (3.400 in)
Piston stroke 114.3 mm (4.50 in)
Cylinder block alloy Cast iron. Aluminium pistons with anodised surfaces. Four-bearing crankshaft with a vibration damper.
Cylinder head alloy aluminium, detachable
Valvetrain inclined side valves, inlet larger than exhaust, pressure lubrication for the tappets
Combustion
Fuel system downdraught carburettor, coil ignition with automatic advance
Oil system floating filter pick up for the oil pump and anti-surge valve
Cooling system forced water circulation thermostatically controlled
Output
Power output 90 bhp (67 kW; 91 PS) @3,200 rpm
Tax horsepower 27.75
Chronology
Predecessor Austin 20/6 engine
Successor OHV Austin Sheerline 3460 cc and 3995 cc "100 hp engine"

Austin Twenty is a large car that was introduced by Austin after the end of the First World War in April 1919 and continued in production until 1930. After the Austin 20/6 model was introduced in 1927, the first model was referred to as the Austin 20/4.

Before 1919 Austins had been expensive prestige cars. In the 1920s there were people who believed the four-cylinder Twenty comparable with if not superior to the equivalent Rolls-Royce. If the coachwork were light enough the Twenty could also give a three-litre Bentley a run for its money. The final inter-war version was the enormous, extremely elegant fast and powerful side-valve Twenty-Eight of 1939. The overhead-valve (25) Sheerline and its companion Princess were to continue the line after the Second World War; however, by the 1930s Austin had lost its aristocratic cachet, having become well known for its Twelves and Sevens.

The deceptively potent four-cylinder Twenty found fame at Brooklands both in private hands and with Works drivers Lou Kings and Arthur Waite (Herbert Austin's Australian son-in-law and competitions manager).

Before World War I Austin had produced a range of expensive cars including a 3.6-litre 20-hp car but, influenced by the manufacturing philosophy of Henry Ford, Herbert Austin decided that the future was in mass-producing a single model and chose that size. The Longbridge plant had been considerably enlarged for wartime production, and it was here that the company had a base to put the theory into practice now with the capacity to manufacture 150 cars a week.

Hudson Super Six

Austin Twenty tourer

1919 Twenty tourer

considered by The Times rather ugly

During the war Austin had owned an American Hudson Super Six which he clearly admired. Its overall layout would form a basis for the design of the new one model car policy. The car would, however, prove to be too large for the home market, only about 3,000 Twenties had been sold by July 1920.

Perhaps hoping to help The Times published a long item at the beginning of June 1920 in which they professed admiration for Austin's enterprise in launching on the British market "a car made on American lines". The result, they said, "is good but not of the class of the old 20-hp. It would have been wiser to have given the new car a new name. The whole finish is poor. The engine vibrates at anything over moderate speeds and sometimes at low speeds. It is difficult to access the power unit and the whole car is difficult to associate with the 10-hp and 15-hp, the famous 18-hp and the 20-hp which did so well in the 1914 Alpine Trials.


...
Wikipedia

...