Austin Twenty

Austin Twenty
Twenty Allweather coupé 1919
Overview
Manufacturer	Austin
Also called	Austin 20/4 (from 1927)
Production	April 1919–1930 15,287 produced[1]
Assembly	Longbridge plant, Birmingham
Body and chassis
Body style	saloon, tourer, coupé, landaulette[2] 16-cwt light van[3]
Powertrain
Engine	3,610 cc (220 cu in) Straight-4[2]
Transmission	Single-plate clutch; four-speed gearbox; propeller shaft to rear axle with helical-bevel gearing[2]
Dimensions
Wheelbase	130 in (3,300 mm)[3]
Chronology
Predecessor	(none: new model)
Successor	Austin 20/6

Austin Twenty is a large car introduced by Austin after the end of the First World War in April 1919, and continued in production until 1930. After the Austin 20/6 model was introduced in 1927, the first model was referred to as the Austin 20/4.

Before 1919, Austins had been expensive, prestige cars. In the 1920s there were people who believed the four-cylinder Twenty comparable with, if not superior to, the equivalent Rolls-Royce. If the coachwork were light enough, the Twenty could also give a three-litre Bentley a run for its money. The final inter-war version was the enormous, extremely elegant, fast and powerful side-valve Twenty-Eight of 1939. The overhead-valve (25) Sheerline and its Princess companion were to continue the line after the Second World War; however, by the 1930s Austin had lost its aristocratic cachet, having become well known for its Twelves and Sevens.^[4]

The deceptively potent four-cylinder Twenty found fame at Brooklands both in private hands and with works drivers Lou Kings and Arthur Waite (Herbert Austin's Australian son-in-law and competitions manager).^[4]