To be sold at the Gooding & Company Amelia Island Auction on March 8, 2013. For further details please visit www.goodingco.com or contact a vehicle specialist at 001.310.899.1960 or specialist@goodingco.com.
Engine Specifications:
45.6 CID L-Head Inline 4-Cylinder Engine
Single Updraft Carburetor
13 HP at 3,100 RPM
3-Speed Manual Gearbox
4-Wheel Mechanical Brakes
Rigid Front Axle with Transverse Leaf Springs
Live Rear Axle with Longitudinal Leaf Springs
About this Car:
Established in 1929, the American Austin Car Company remains noteworthy as America’s first serious producer of small, economical cars. In basic essence a branch-plant of the Austin Motor Company, American Austin produced stylish derivatives of the hugely successful Austin Seven to circumvent heavy import tariffs. Priced from just $445, American Austin offered a complete model lineup, including cabriolet, coupe, roadster, and runabout body styles featuring excellent fuel economy and remarkable value.
Bodies were styled by the highly versatile, multiple award-winning designer Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, who had emigrated to America in 1928 to join Grand Rapids, Michigan’s Hayes Body Corporation, which produced the coachwork. Sadly, American Austin did not receive wide acceptance and, by 1932, the company slipped into receivership and folded in 1934 prior to its reincarnation under Roy Evans from 1935 to 1941.
While production estimates vary between 4,000 to 5,000 for coupes that were originally built between 1929 and 1934, the example offered here is one of only 1,300 American Austins built in total for 1934. Few survive today, with many falling prey to wartime scrap drives, heavy use, and neglect. However, American Austin’s historical significance and the marque’s rising interest among today’s microcar collectors have generated growing demand for these earliest American compact cars.
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