It was on this day in 1951 that Austin chose the Earls Court Motor Show to officially unveil its eagerly-awaited small family saloon, the Austin A30.

Launched to directly compete against the best-selling Morris Minor, the Austin A30 was produced at Longbridge and cost £507 which meant it undercut the Minor by £62 despite more than matching the its great rival from a technical perspective.

Though originally only offered as a four-door saloon, two-door variants were introduced in late 1953 whilst a van and van-based countryman estate were made available in 1954.

Despite never quite eclipsing the Morris Minor, the Austin A30 was highly-successful in its own right, selling over 500,000 units in all its guises before it was effectively replaced by the larger and more powerful A35 in Austin’s line-up from 1956.

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