Austin 7 Price Guide

The Austin Seven is one of the most important cars ever made. It brought motoring to the British masses in the 1920s the way the Model T had in America, and in the process saved its manufacturer from bankruptcy, saw off the cyclecar industry, and kick-started BMW, Nissan, and Jaguar. Not bad for a car designed in a billiards room by a knight and a teenager.

The Car

Herbert Austin funded the Seven privately after his board rejected the idea, hiring 17-year-old draughtsman Stanley Edge to help develop it. The result, launched in 1922, was a genuine car in miniature: a 696cc (soon 747cc) four-cylinder engine, four-wheel brakes, a proper four-seat body, and suspension that made it vastly more refined than the flimsy cyclecars it replaced. Over 290,000 were sold by the time production ended in 1939. BMW licensed it as the Dixi (their first car), DAT produced it in Japan (forerunner of Datsun/Nissan), and William Lyons built Swallow bodies on the Seven chassis before founding SS Cars, which became Jaguar.

What to Know

Body styles ranged from four-seat Chummy tourers through Box Saloons, the Ruby (1934–1939), the sporting Ulster and Nippy, and countless specials and coachbuilt variants. The 747cc sidevalve engine produced between 10.5 and 17bhp depending on year and tune. This was actually enough to feel genuinely lively given the car’s 330kg weight. All bodies use wooden frames with steel, aluminium, or fabric cladding (check the timber carefully if buying). The crash gearbox requires double-declutching. Parts availability is superb thanks to a vast and active club network. Fuel consumption is around 40mpg on normal unleaded. No road tax or MOT is required for pre-1977 cars.

Buying

Join the Austin Seven Clubs’ Association before buying; the best cars often change hands within the community and the collective knowledge is invaluable. Sporting two-seaters and open tourers command more than saloons. The Ulster is the most valuable standard variant. Specials range from the crude to the magnificent. The Big 7 of 1937 took the recipe and upsized it slightly as buyers became more affluent.