Austin London Taxicab

The Austin London Taxicab used a modified Austin Heavy Twelve-Four chassis clothed with new bodies designed by London's largest taxicab retailer and dealer Mann & Overton, and made for them by London coachbuilders.

History

Will Overton, director of the car dealership Mann & Overton, had been selling Unic taxicabs in London since 1906. In 1924 their business with its French-made Unics had provided almost 80% of the new taxicabs bought in London. In 1925, with effect from 1 May 1926, McKenna duties were imposed on commercial vehicles to protect UK manufacturers from imports and in spite of Unic's local assembly operation in Cricklewood, opened in 1928, it was no longer possible to supply London with French Unic taxicabs at an acceptable price. So William Overton approached Herbert Austin about modifying the Heavy Twelve-Four hire car chassis so that it would comply with the London Conditions of Fitness. It had been announced in 1927 that those regulations would be lightened with effect from 1928. In view of the easing of police regulations and the enormous gap in the market left by imported vehicles Austin duly modified their hire-car chassis to suit, and Mann & Overton arranged for their catalogued three standard bodies made in Greater London by: Strachan or Vincent or – for £5 more – Jones.

From 1930 to 1934 this first Austin London taxicab was colloquially known as the High Lot or Upright Grand. On a new chassis and thereby much lowered its appearance was revised in 1934 and it was renamed by Austin the Low Loading taxi.

Previously Austin had only provided hire car chassis not troubling to make major amendments to that chassis to comply with Metropolitan Police regulations for London taxicabs.Malcolm Bobbit, ''Taxi!: The Story of the London Taxicab'', Veloce, Dorchester UK, 2011

File:LONDON TAXI (8668804704).jpg, 1934 Austin Taxi, body by Jones Bros
File:LONDON TAXI (8668805594).jpg

High Lot

Because the overall height of the 1930 versionA New Taxicab
Austin Twelve for London Next Month
Scotland Yard has approved another new taxicab which, it is expected, will appear in the streets of London next month. This is an Austin Twelve which will embody all the latest features of taxicab comfort ... unsplinterable glass will be a standard fitting.
was much greater than the competition it received the nickname High Lot (HL) or Upright Grand. This design gave top hat wearing customers plenty of room. It was soon outselling the Beardmore and Morris-Commercial versions.

1933 Austin 12 4 High Lot Taxi 1.2 4350959111.jpg, 1933 Austin 12/4 HL by Vincent of Reading
1934 Austin 12 4 Taxi 1.1.jpg, 1934 HL
Old Taxi Austin Six Covent Garden 4693400655.jpg, 1934 Austin 6 HL

Low Loading

Their new Low Loading (LL) taxicab was introduced in 1934 with an overall height some 7 inches lower arranged by using the redesigned back axle (the final drive was switched from overhead to underslung) and dropped cross-braced frame introduced by Austin for their new Light Twelve-Four and Light Twelve-Six cars.

BYR155 030711 CPS 5923256754.jpg, LL body by Jones Bros
File:1938 Austin taxicab (EXC 749), 2009 HCVS London to Brighton run.jpg, 1938 Austin LL
File:1937 Austin Taxi Cab (5980290167).jpg, 1937 Austin LL, rear view
1937 Austin 12.4 Taxi.jpg, LL by Strachan of Acton 1937

Standard equipment included a luxuriously upholstered Standard Cab Landaulette body, cellulose blue with full windscreen, and both front and rear bumpers. Fire extinguisher, horn, number plates, license holder, taxi sign, Trico visional wiper and speedometer were also included.

All exterior fittings were chromium plated. The list price was 395. Hire purchase terms were £50 deposit with monthly installments of £10, for a total price of £472, or £18 less if purchased completed in 40 months (rebate reduced by £3 for each additional month.)

Flash Lot

There was one more variant before the outbreak of war, both grille and windscreen were raked, the grille and the wings (mudguards) were flared and matched those of the Austin Twelve saloon introduced in 1934. Few were made before the outbreak of war ended manufacture. These taxicabs proved to be the last with a landaulette body, which was forbidden by new regulations issued soon after the war.

Austin Taxi 1939 East Anglia Transport Museum 8583304389.jpg, 1939 Flash Lot body by Jones Bros of Bayswater 1939

At Work

File:London , Kodachrome by Chalmers Butterfield edit.jpg, Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949
File:London cab.jpg, London, 1946
File:London in the Spring of 1941- Everyday Life in London, England D2938.jpg, London, 1941
File:London Is Still London- Everyday Life in Wartime London, England, February 1941 D2100.jpg, London, 1941

Replacement

After the Second World War, Mann & Overton decided that it needed a more up-to-date design. So it was agreed that Austin would supply the engine/chassis and Carbodies in Coventry the body, although it was actually designed by Austin's chief body designer Jim Stanfield. In 1948 a new Austin taxi appeared on the streets called the FX3. It was soon the market leader. Although in 1952 a diesel engine from Perkins Engines was available as a conversion, by 1954 Austin was producing their own 2.2 litre diesel engine as a factory fit. Also made by Austin and Carbodies was the hire car FL1 which was almost identical but lacking luggage space by the driver, having instead a bench seat, and there was no roof sign.

See also

* List of Austin motor vehicles#London Taxicabs

Note

References

External links

Handbook of the Austin 12 h.p. Taxi, Publication no. 1384, Price One Shilling

{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin London Taxicab
Taxis of London
*12
Taxi vehicles