English Austins have usually been thought of by North Americans as small, economical cars, usually with four-cylinder engines. The first one to gain real popularity was the A40, a pleasant little four-passenger sedan that provided adequate performance and good fuel economy. It began arriving in quantity in 1948, and with the pent-up demand for new cars that followed the Second World War it did fairly well for a few years. It was followed by upgraded models such as the A50 and A55, and even some six-cylinder models.
The A40 et al, and the tiny American Austin/Bantam, a clone of the English Austin Seven that was produced in Butler, Pennsylvania, during the 1930s, consolidated the perception that Austins were small. Thus it was a surprise when the Austin Motor Co. introduced a car that abandoned the economy-car persona and moved into the luxury field. This was the Austin Sheerline.
The Sheerline was conceived during the Second World War by Austin head Leonard Lord who drove a Bentley as his personal car. He wanted to take Austin beyond its work-a-day image and expand into the luxury class. He envisioned a kind of "poor man's Bentley" that would complete with the luxury of Bentley and Rolls-Royce, at a price low enough to escape the English sales tax that doubled above 1,000 pounds. It was not intended to be chauffeurdriven, but to appeal to the owner who wanted to drive his own car, who couldn't afford a Rolls or Bentley, or who just wanted to avoid the ostentation.
The Austin A110 Sheerline arrived in 1947 with a 3.5-litre overhead-valve inline six-cylinder 110horsepower engine that evolved from one used in a pre-war Austin truck. It was soon realized that more power was required, so after a handful of A110s were produced, the six was increased to four litres and 125 horsepower to become the A125 Sheerline. There was also a more luxurious Princess companion model bodied by Austin's recently acquired coachbuilder, Vanden Plas.
The Sheerline was a body-on-frame sedan with a 3,029-millimetre wheelbase and overall length of 4,877 mm, about the size of a 1948 Chevrolet. It stood a towering 1,702 mm tall.
The Sheerline's technology was quite conventional. Suspension was independent by A-arms and coil spring in front, while at the rear were longitudinal semi-elliptic springs and a solid axle. The drum brakes were hydraulic on all four wheels, and power went to the rear wheels through a columnshifted four-speed transmission with synchromesh on the top three. A welcome feature for North Americans was a built-in hydraulic jack at each wheel to facilitate wheel-changing. Like other English cars, it had a 12-volt electrical system when American cars were still struggling along with an anemic six-volt system.
Styling followed the British "razor edge" motif, with a multi-bar, vertical grille topped by Austin's "Flying A" hood ornament. There were prominent front fenders and free-standing Lucas P100 headlamps so large it was said that if they were turned sideways top speed was increased by several miles per hour.
The interior was typical English luxury with leather upholstery and two fold-down armrests in the front seats. Underfoot were thick Wilton carpets, and rich wood trim on instrument panel and door caps reflected its quality finish. Radio and heater were standard, and the steering column could be telescopically adjusted. The only jarring notes were the rectangular instruments which seemed out of place in a luxury car.
Sheerlines were exported to several countries, including the United States. Some probably reached Canada, although the numbers must have been very small.
Its performance ran into stiff competition in North America, the land of the big car. The 125-horsepower six took over 20 seconds to accelerate the 1,928-kg sedan to 96 km/h, in spite of a stump-pulling 4.25: 1 rear axle ratio. Top speed was only 132 km/h: This meant that it could be easily outrun by such lowly American cars as Chevrolets and Fords. A contest between an Oldsmobile 88 or Cadillac, both of which cost less than the Austin's close to $6,000, would have been downright embarrassing.
Not surprisingly, the Austin Sheerline found very few buyers in North America. Although it was large and luxurious with a certain old-world charm, its wood, leather and razor-edge styling were not enough to compete with the big American V-8's smoothness, performance and price.
Sheerline production carried on until 1954 without significant change, during which fewer than 8,000 sedans were built. There were also limitedproduction limousine, ambulance and hearse versions. The A135 Princess continued for a few years longer, but like the Sheerline, it did not make an impact in North America.
