The Austin Seven was announced in 1922 by Sir Herbert Austin. The newspapers of the day heralded it as “Motoring for the Million”, whilst others pronounced it as the “first civilised motor car of really small size”.

The Austin Seven handbook described the car and the idea behind it:

The Austin Seven was introduced to supersede the sidecar combination. It seats two adults and three small children, or if children are not carried, a large space is available for luggage. Everyone is brought within the hood, whilst the car is fitted with a double windscreen and side curtains opening with the doors.

This little car, which can be run for about a penny a mile, is an ideal car for a woman to use herself, enabling her to do more shopping without fatigue, to visit her friends more frequently, and to attend social and recreational functions. Another appeal is to the businessman, as it enables the executive to make the utmost use of his time, whilst his expenditure is no more than it would be on tram or bus fares, and there is no need to point out the value of such a car for the commercial traveller, who can penetrate into districts that poor train services would make it hardly worth his whilst to cover otherwise.

The Austin Seven also serves as a tender for the country house, enabling a servant to go down to the village or post or to the doctor at any time of the day or night, without the expense and trouble of getting out of a big car. The speed, economy, and road holding qualities of this small car place it beyond all comparison with the sidecar combination, and it is, in addition, a thoroughly good job, as it was planned and made with the car instead of the motorcycle aspect in mind.

The car presented here is chassis number 16354, a later version from 1938. The car is finished in dark blue and has a blue leather interior that shows a lovely patina. The odometer reads 7,139 miles, and this fixed-head Austin Seven is fitted with a desirable sunroof. Recently taken out of long-term storage, this adorable saloon was overhauled by the in-house mechanics at the collection.

The Seven was an immediate success. There had never been anything like it since. Austin Sevens are becoming increasingly popular for use on trial, and this would be a great candidate for such events.