Austin A40 Farina - Mark I

Presented as a Saloon at the London Motor Show in October 1958, the A40 Farina was intended to replace the Austin A35, from which it inherited much of its running gear, and was a capacious thoroughly modern small car, with a brand new distinctive 'two box' shape and headroom in the back seat. It was a saloon, the lower rear panel dropped like a then conventional bootlid, the rear window remaining fixed.

The Countryman hatchback appeared exactly a year later in October 1959, and differed from the saloon in that the rear window now lifted up and had its own support while the lower panel was now flush with the floor and its hinges had been strengthened. It was a very small estate car with a horizontally split rear opening having a top-hinged upper door and bottom-hinged lower door. October 1959 also saw the standardisation on both cars of self-cancelling indicators and the provision of a centre interior light and, in early summer 1960, a flat lid was added over the spare wheel in the rear luggage compartment.

At launch the car shared the 948 cc A-Series straight-4 used in other Austins including its A35 predecessor. The suspension was independent at the front using coil springs with a live axle and semi elliptic leaf springs at the rear. The drum brakes were a hybrid (hydromech) arrangement, hydraulically operated at the front but cable actuated at the rear.The front drums at 8 in (200 mm) were slightly larger than the 7 in (180 mm) rears. Cam and peg steering was fitted.

Individual seats were fitted in the front, with a bench at the rear that could fold down to increase luggage capacity. The trim material was a vinyl treated fabric. Options included a heater, radio, windscreen washers and white wall tyres. The gearchange lever was floor mounted and the handbrake between the seats. The door windows were not opened by conventional winders but pulled up and down using finger grips, a window lock position was on the door handle.

A de-luxe version tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1958 had a top speed of 66.8 mph (107.5 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-50 mph (80 km/h) in 19.5 seconds. A fuel consumption of 38 miles per imperial gallon (7.4 L/100 km; 32 mpg) was recorded. The test car cost £689 including taxes of £230.

• Austin A40 Farina (Mark I)
• Austin A40 Farina (Mark I)
  Saloon