I came across this last night - it’s the latest incarnation of the Austin Seven. Billed as “…combining the core features of the Wrangler with the sophistication of the Grand Cherokee’, it will appear on Chrylser’s stand at the Detroit Auto Show in January.
Called the Jeep Trailhawk, it is derived from Wrangler architecture, which makes it a direct descendent of Herbert Austin’s famous Seven. Not a lot of people know this, but when the Seven failed to make many sales in the USA, Austin of America morphed into American-owned Bantam Cars, which sold reworked versions of the Seven with a modified manifold to avoid paying a licence fee to Herbert Austin. The owner of Bantam got wind of the US military’s search for a light reconnaissance vehicle and persuaded them to try his little runabout. A succession of modifications, including a larger engine and four-wheel drive, eventually gave rise to what became known as the GP or Jeep. The rest, as they say, is history.
A number of other Austin Seven derivatives found their way into other manufacturers’ line-ups. Anyone care to name them?
I believe that BMW made use of the humble Austin 7 in their Dixi model from the early 30’s. How things have changed.
John | 23 Nov 06 - 15:50The Austin seven made it to France in the form of the Rosengart
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucien_Rosengart
Ted | 23 Nov 06 - 23:19