It’s time once again for me to machete my way through the spider webs to uncover another gem from motoring past, blow off the dust and evaluate if the damn thing was worth my quest in the first place. Welcome back to The Carchive.
It’s the early ’60s. The space race is in full effect and we have atomic energy for the masses. Ford have moved onto Fuselage body styling on the newest Thunderbird and the Phantom II is being phased into front-line use. Meanwhile, while all these exciting developments were going on, the British motorist could salivate at the prospect of the New Austin 1100.
“Here’s the new… AUSTIN 1100!”. Find out if the car was worthy of that exclamation mark after the jump.

“From your very first glimpse of the Austin 1100 saloon there will be a lasting impression of British designing ingenuity and constructional craftsmanship”
Before you read this article any further you have to remember that the seventies hadn’t yet crept up on the motoring public. The murky years of strikes, indifference and wanton carelessness that caused so many British cars to crumble before they left the production line was still some way off. The Austin 1100 was actually built adequately well.
This, mysterious internal codename ADO16, was the other Issigonis masterpiece, slotting into the Austin/Morris range one step higher than the Mini. It shared a number of basic engineering and packaging principles with its smaller, cuter sister, yet has sadly forever lived in her shadow. A lot of this is to do with image. Though a very crisp looking machine when you look at it with the benefit of hindsight, and hitting all the right stylistic targets of the time, (the brochure tells us it was “styled to please” yet was “completely unostentatious”) it just never gained the immortality of the Mini.

“Comfortable seating for five adults is not all the magic to be found inside the Austin 1100!”
This magic extended as far as side windows which wound down (until they were completely out of sight!), swivelling louvre in the front doors and a heater / demister (but only on the De Luxe model). Magic!
But there was more! The arm-rests each incorporated a conveniently positioned door-pull! You could sit inside and look out with what they termed Vista-Vision ease, which sounded rather American. But then a car equipped with twin, self-parking windscreen wipers deserves no short measure of hype.
The biggest win for the 1100 was the amount of space inside. Using the packaging ideas of the Mini created a car that was cavernous inside, plus had the sheet metal space for a second pair of doors. That long wheelbase combined with very short overhangs contributed towards an additional benefit.

“Part of the smoothest ride in motoring history”
The term Hydrolastic was coined with this car. Brainchild of another Alex, Mr Moulton in this case, the suspension system under this car was one of the more revolutionary aspects of it. Briefly, it replaced conventional springs and shock absorbers with a system of pistons and fluid which were interconnected between the two axles. This gave a self levelling effect, but only in the one axis. Side to side variances weren’t balanced in the same way.
The effect here was that, yes, the ride was astonishingly smooth. But it had a kind of weird artifice to it which meant you couldn’t quite assimilate how the body movements of the car matched the terrain you were traversing. The result had children vomiting copiously all over the vinyl-treated fabric interior surfaces.

“Stylish indeed, and therefore in great demand everywhere. Wherever you buy your Austin 1100 you can be sure of friendly service and wherever you drive you can be sure of expert attention from a chain of Austin dealers spanning the globe.”
That’s right. In the UK you could buy this as an Austin 1100 or with subtle variations an MG 1100, Morris 1100 or Wolseley, or up-engined as 1300 versions of the same or with a Riley badge.
Or you could buy a Spanish built Authi or an Italian Innocenti. They were building them in South Africa and Australia, too. Americans would later be able to buy an Austin America (you’re welcome) but not until 1968.
“Almost wherever you look there are existing (sic) new features to be discovered. Drive the Austin 1100 and convince yourself of the totally fresh and progressive thinking that has made it such a delightful car to own and drive”
By 1974 it was all over, and something terrifying was lurking in the wings to take over. Yes, the Austin Allegro would arrive, and soon people everywhere wish it hadn’t.
(All images are of original manufacturer publicity materials, photographed by me. Copyright probably belongs to BMW, which is a bizarre turn of events if ever there was one)