IDRIVEACLASSIC reviews: Austin 18

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Austin 18

The Austin 18 was introduced in July 1937 and was discontinued in September 1939, the month that Britain announced they’d be entering the Second World War.

The car had great ambitions and had Austin’s early hallmarks like forward thinking design, a daring to be different attitude and quality by the bucketload. A lot of more modern classic fans think Allegro or Metro when they think Austin, but really, this is the golden age of Austin when the cars they made were absolutely astounding.

The car was issued in Royal blue, black, maroon, Deep coach green, ash grey and pueblo brown. Upholstry was either leather or cloth. You were paying around £5 more for the leather upholstery as part of the deluxe package.

When the Austin 18 came to market, it was sold with 18 unique selling points as per the model’s name which were:

1. Silent and efficient six cylinder engine with downdraught carburation giving over 50 brake horse power
2. Modern sound insulated body work with draught-free ventilation and flush fitting sliding roof. In fact, every single panel on the car is sound insulated, which makes for a very quiet drive!
3. Ample seating for seven adults with adjustable seats to front and rear - they were able to achieve this by mounting the engine 9 inches further forward then the predecessor which increased chassis length and in turn, space for passengers.
4. Complete insulation of the power unit and transmission system
5. Four speed box with a modern for the time, synchro on 2nd 3rd and 4th gear
6. Fascia hand control for the Girling mechanical brakes, or for those in the know, the Girling rod brakes as used on the Austin 14.
7. Long springs of low periodicity with positive lubrication and hydraulic shock absorbers
8. Very wide doors and flat floor with no transmission tunnel or foot wells to hamper the ride for driver or passenger. In fact, the doors open an impressive 31 inches wide.
9. Exception visibility and Triplex toughened glass in the front screen and the windows
10. Four-wheel permanent hydraulic jacking system
11. Spare wheel and luggage compartment with two fitted suitcases - sadly these are now missing
12. Improved steering called the Marles-Weller steering with adjustable wheel
13. Easy-clean wheels and large extra low pressure tyres
14. Large dial illuminated instruments
15. Foot operated dip-and-switch headlamps
16. 12-volt electrical system with compensated voltage control - which remember - was pretty advanced considering even bigwigs like Ford were still on 6 volt
17. Pump cooling controlled by thermostat
18. Automatic return direction indicators, or self cancelling trafficators to us modern folk and a gearbox controlled reversing light - a very modern touch!

As this is a car with a very short production life, the literature to support is limited and I’ve gained all the above from sales brochures issued at time of launch and it’s been an interesting car to research.

But who would own a car like this in the modern age, and most importantly, why? I decided to put Mark the owner in front of the camera to tell us a little more.