Austin

The Austin A35 was introduced in 1956 as an updated version of the A30; despite being pitched against the more modern looking Morris Minor it sold well and still today has its fans.

A40 Farina was one of the most important cars produced by Austin as it was the first model to be styled by Pininfarina, introducing the two box design that is now in all hatchbacks. The features were to go on to influence the future BMC range with vertical lights, sharp lines ending in fins and lots of glass.

The next model was the Sprite but with no design budget Donald Healey was forced to use existing production parts to come up with a small, cheap, no frills sotftop sports car. It soon acquired the nickname Frogeye Sprite or Bugeye Sprite because of its prominent headlamps. 1961 saw the Sprite Mk2 which is almost identical to the MG Midget.

Also in 1961 Austin launched the Austin A60 which was again styled by Pininfarina this was a worthwhile addition to Austins larger and spacious saloons as it came with a more powerful 1622cc engine. This model was cloned throughout the BMC empire, Wolseley had the 1560, Riley the 6/68 and MG the Magnette Mk 3 .

1959 saw the first of the big Healeys, the Austin-Healey 3000. This model was BMC's new luxury sports car fitted with a very capable 2.9 litre engine.