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Innovative and functional - Austin 1100 Hydrolastic in the (historical) test

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Created in 1963

Text:

Clauspeter Becker

Photos:

Archiv Reinhard / Max Pichler

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Archiv

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Archiv Reinhard / Max Pichler

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Archiv

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Austin 1100 Hydrolastic (1964) - for the young family

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Austin 1100 Hydrolastic (1964) - compact sedan

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Austin 1100 Hydrolastic (1964) - spacious trunk with flap

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Austin 1100 (1967) - the renewed Mak II Super Deluxe Saloon variant

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Austin 1100 (1964) - despite its modest overall length, this car offers an above-average amount of interior space - at the 1964 Geneva Motor Show

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Morris 1100 (1963) - maximum interior space with a modest overall length is demonstrated in this cutaway model

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Morris 1100 (1963) - new basic model with 1.1-liter engine and front-wheel drive

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MG 1100 (1963) - first shown in the fall of 1962, corresponds to Morris 1100, but has 56 SAE horsepower

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Morris 1100 (1963) - excellent all-round visibility

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Morris 1100 (1963) - compact and functional

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Morris 1100 (1963) - Pininfarina elegance on a Mini basis

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Austin 1100 Hydrolastic (1963) - Dashboard with tape speedometer and fuel and coolant temperature gauges

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Austin 1100 Hydrolastic (1964) - Transparent drawing with lettering

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Austin 1100 Hydrolastic (1964) - How the Hydrolastic suspension works

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Austin 1100 Hydrolastic (1964) - with four-cylinder engine, 50 hp at 5100 rpm

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Austin 1100 Hydrolastic (1964) - four-door sedan for five people

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Summary

With the Austin 1100 Hydrolastic, the BMC Group once again proved its ingenuity after the Mini. The complex "water chassis" already known from the English and a perfect symbiosis of design and functionality made it very popular. The automobile magazine Automobil-Illustrierte, whose test from 1963 is reproduced here in the original wording, supplemented by many historical illustrations, took a similar view.

This article contains the following chapters

Better than the vocabulary allows
Function meets design
Lightweight construction probably not the top priority
Smoothly gliding
Learning to cook from old pots
A poem
Fine and clean
Good for everything, not too good for anything
Technical and test data

Estimated reading time: 21min

Preview (beginning of the article)

This car costs two hundred pennies less than 7000 marks, and you will certainly think it is expensive, because it is no longer than 373 centimeters from bumper to bumper. A VW looks gigantic next to it and the Austin seems almost half-grown next to mid-range cars of the same price. In fact, you can get bigger cars for your money elsewhere. Performance is also more affordable, because the 48 hp do not turn the rather solidly built Austin - it weighs 825 kg - into a sports car. On the contrary, it completely denies its relationship to the Mini Cooper. The Austin 1100 is of a cold-blooded English nature. It is not able to amaze with its temperament or speed. Its acceleration is sluggish by today's standards, and the quoted speed of 125 km/h is hardly an understatement.

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