British · 1945–1949
Austin 16 hp
The Austin Sixteen (also Austin 16) is a 2.2-litre motor car that was built by Austin from 1945 until 1949. It was the first 'new' car to be produced by Austin following the end of the Second World War. Apart from the name, it shared nothing with the pre war Austin 16. Whilst it used a brand new 4-cylinder 2199 cc, overhead-valve engine—the first to be used in an Austin car, it in fact used the chassis and body of the pre-war Austin 12, which continued to be produced, alongside the other pre-war saloons the 8 hp and the 10 hp. The number Sixteen was not an indication of the actual power output of the engine but rather the result of a calculation used to determine the excise duty (road tax) payable for the vehicle. The engine in fact produced 67 bhp (50 kW) at 3800 rpm. The car shared a number of features with the famed London Taxi, one of which was the built-in hydraulic jacking system operated from a pump located under the bonnet. The Sixteen had a healthy turn of speed for its day with a maximum quoted speed of 75 mph (121 km/h). In the bitterly cold winter of 1947 Alan Hess and a team of drivers with 3 Austin Sixteen vehicles undertook a publicity run on behalf of the Austin Motor Company to visit seven Northern European Capitals in seven days. Despite extraordinary travel difficulties caused by heavy snow, the vehicles completed the adventure successfully, and the story is related in Alan Hess's book, Gullible's Travels. Steering was by a cam and lever system which provided a dual ratio to ease parking. Suspension was all elliptic (overslung in front, underslung at the rear) with rigid beam axles all controlled by Luvax-Girling double acting hydraulic shock absorbers—a transverse torsion bar linking both pairs. Brakes by Girling were mechanical using a wedge and roller system in 11 inch drums with twin leading shoes in the front drums.
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Predecessor: Austin 16 · Successor: Austin A70
All British Austin 16 hp data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →
Specifications
- name
- Austin Sixteen, BS1
- Manufacturer
- Austin
- Production
- 1945–1949, 35,434 made
- Body style
- 4-door saloon , 4-door estate
- Engine
- 2199 cc 4-cylinder overhead-valve , 67 bhp
- Length
- 171 in)
- Width
- 67 in
- Kerb weight
- 27 cwt, 3024 lb
- Wheelbase
- 104.5 in, track 56 in
- Transmission
- 4-speed manual
- Predecessor
- Austin 16, Austin 18
- Successor
- Austin A70
- sp
- uk
Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.
More photos
Sources
- Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q501588CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_16_hpCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1345835655 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Big_Wheels_Car_Show_4890240697.jpgCC BY 2.0 · Photo: Martin Pettitt · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.