When Lord Austin's little masterpiece appeared in 1922 very few people would have dared to forecast that the almost miniature vehicle would eventually take its place amongst really fast sporting vehicles. However, E. C. Gordon England realised its possibilities even when it was in its crudest prototype state, and quickly persuaded Lord Austin (then Sir Herbert Austin) that it would make a most effective racing machine, and eventually a snappy sports car.
Under Gordon England's expert guidance, the Austin Seven became one of the fastest light cars of its capacity ever to race, and certainly the most rapid side-valve. The cars were assembled with loving care, very special light-weight bodies were designed, the power unit was meticulously balanced, and hundreds of experiments were carried out with gear ratios, steering lay-outs and so on. In addition, pistons and con. rods were considerably lightened, compression ratio raised, cylinder head redesigned, and high-lift cams added.
The cars were not only prepared for racing, but were listed in the catalogues, and emerged as the famous Brooklands Austin. This little car had so many racing successes that it is impossible to list them all here. The Seven made a regular habit of winning the 200 Miles Race and breaking class records. Gordon England and Capt. A. C. R. Waite covered the flying kilometer at 85.47 m.p.h. and averaged 66.33 m.p.h. for the standing mile—really wonderful speeds for a 747.5-c.c. (56 x 76-mm.) side-valve engine.
The production sports Brooklands Austin was sold with a guaranteed maximum of over 75 m.p.h. Standard gear ratios of the mid-'twenties were 14.5, 8.17, and 4.4 to 1, with speeds of 35, 55, and 75 m.p.h. respectively. These figures were obtainable only with the car in stripped form, as the streamlining was so carefully planned that the addition of wings, windscreen, lamps and so on knocked off a considerable amount of m.p.h.
There wasn't much room in a "Brooklands"; the passenger's seat was staggered in order to give the driver a measure of elbow space. The streamlining was carried to a great extent by providing fairings for every projecting part—even the underside of the chassis was covered by a thin aluminum shield. The thin aluminum bodies were constructed over three-ply wood on a whitewood frame. Although a Sports Seven was marketed in 1924, it bore very little relation to the Brooklands and the later Ulster types, as it was practically a touring car with a sports body.
From time to time different versions of the sports Austins appeared, but were, in the main, slightly tuned editions of the ordinary production cars. Even the famous Gordon England Cup Models were not particularly fast, although their road performance was superior to any other 750-c.c. car before the advent of the M.G.s. Nevertheless, at intervals, exceedingly fast super-sports cars were marketed, and in 1928 a supercharged edition made its appearance. From this car there sprang a long line of blown Austins which had many successes on road and track. Apart from the more or less racing Brooklands types, the Austin Motor Co. had not, until then, produced a definitely super-sports car for the ordinary sporting motorist. A Cozette blower was used, being driven via a train of gears in the timing case, on the near side of the engine. A water pump was added, and a much stiffer crankshaft employed.
The body was quite straightforward, being a two-seater with cutaway sides and no doors. The tail was streamlined, and the spare wheel was carried behind the seat squab. The windscreen sloped back slightly, an efficient hood and sidescreens were carried, and, for the rest, the car was completely equipped for touring. It was a genuine 70 m.p.h. vehicle, and was undoubtedly the forerunner of the famous Ulster series. From about 1929 onwards there was a perfect spate of special- bodied Austins from coachbuilding and tuning concerns. In every case these were versions of the standard Seven, although many fantastic claims were made regarding speeds. One or two of them were exceedingly well-built and speedy litde cars, particularly the Burghley, K.C., Arrow, Gordon England Cup and Stadium models, B.C., Swallow, A.E.W., and Taylor.
The 1930 sports car was a delightful little vehicle, and included the downswept front axle and inverted springs that many people appear to think stamps their cars as being genuine Ulster models. A blown version of this car was also available, and is said to have been capable of 80 m.p.h., with full road equipment. The car was most attractive to the eyes of the enthusiast, having a. low-slung appearance, racy-looking body, and an outside exhaust system. The unblown car seemed to be able to be driven at 5,000 r.p.m. without doing any harm, and time has shown that these 1930 Austins had extremely hard-wearing cylinder bores for such a high-revving power unit.
Shortly afterwards the Ulster Austins were produced, and, to judge by the large numbers of allegedly genuine Ulsters going around, the Austin concern can't possibly have had much time to build any other machines. The real Ulster cars had very special engines with a dynamically balanced crankshaft, ultralight con. rods and pistons, and a special cylinder head. The lubrication system was designed for sustained high speed, as was suspension and steering. Gearboxes were notable for their rapid- change capabilities, the clutch was very robust, and the transmission system was virtually unbreakable. In fact, the entire car was really a road-racing machine constructed to stand the terrific strains imposed by high supercharger pressures.
Nippy, Speedy and 65
In actual fact, not very many Ulster-type cars were produced, and the Austin firm concentrated on more sedate types of sports cars, such as the “Nippy”, “Speedy” and " 65." They were content to build the super-sporting versions as works-entered trials cars. The supercharged " Grasshoppers" were typical of Austin policy, in that they were made solely for factory use, although later disposed of to specially selected drivers. The "Mighty Atom" was the Austin Company's answer to the M.G., and the amazing twin overhead camshaft single-seaters designed by Murray Jamieson are generally reckoned to be the acme of perfection in small racing cars.
The very existence of the cars was probably the finest advertisement the Austin people ever had, and it was said at the time that they were financed entirely by Lord Austin out of his private purse. The promise of their participation in any event was an assurance of a large and eager crowd, and their drivers, Bert Hadley, Charlie Good- acre and Charlie Dodson, together with Mrs. Kay Petre, became popular idols. At the time of writing this book the cars have not made a public reappearance, and their future is still uncertain - which is a great pity! |
