A40 Somerset 1952-1954
How could you not buy one after reading this:
WHETHER you enjoy motoring for its own sake or whether business dictates your journeying, you will derive infinite pleasure from the handsome A40 Somerset.
Based on a chassis that has given to motorists everywhere a fuller appreciation of light car travel it is enthusiastically welcomed as a brilliant addition to a famous range of cars. Its performance is outstanding, for it will crawl unfalteringly with slow-moving traffic, yet at a touch of the accelerator will spring to life with a surge of power that speeds it well into the upper 60s. In comfort too it is right at the top of its class with a tastefully planned interior and comfortable foam rubber seating covered in real leather.
These great qualities, combined with economy in operation and ease of control, ensure for the A40 Somerset supreme success both at home and overseas.
Convenience of controls, dignity in design and clear all-round vision are featured in the A40 Somerset saloon. Note also the close-mounted individually adjustable front seats and generous leg room.
Source: Austin A40 Somerset brochure
It seems strange that Austin called this a coupé, as it is obviously a convertible!
A quote from the brochure:
From every point of view the Austin A40 Somerset Coupe is a car of outstanding merit. Indeed it offers the best of both motoring worlds, combining a freely open body for fair-weather touring with the comfortable cosiness associated with a saloon car when this form of travel proves more suitable. Its power is derived from the world-famous A 40 o.h.v. engine which provides a virile performance to excite the young enthusiast and a smooth flexibility that enables it to be handled with confidence by the most diffident of drivers. With its brisk, purposeful gait on the open road, easy manoevrability in moving traffic and for parking, and its extreme economy of operation, the A 40 Coupe sets the latest fashion in dependable, all-the-year-round family motoring.
Here is a model, dependable in the Austin tradition, combining the grace and good manners of a modern saloon car with the utility required by those who wish to carry goods.
Features of Dependability
- Powerful 4-cylinder o.h.v. engine
- Smooth, silent t transmission
- Independent coil spring front suspension
- Resilient, semi-elliptic rear springs
- Girling full hydraulic brakes with two-leading-shoe operation
- Cam gear steering with adjustable sturdy linkage
- Steering column gear control
- Robust chassis frame, strongly cross- braced
- Ingeniously blended wood and steel body of rigid construction