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Austin Sheerline
The Austin Sheerline is a large luxury car produced by Austin in the United Kingdom from 1947 until 1954.
The new Sheerline, with razor-edge styling, first appeared at the Geneva Motor Show on 13 March 1947.
It was a luxurious car in the style of the contemporary Rolls-Royce or Bentley but at a much lower price, around two-thirds that of the equivalent Rolls-Royce but still the price of five or six small Austins.
Design began in 1942 during WW2 when Austin Motors Chairman, Sir Leonard Lord, decided that Austin needed a large and traditionally styled car to compete in the luxury car market.
Argentine/Italian stylist, Ricardo Burzi designed the Austin Sheerline based on Leonard Lord's sketches. The day Italy entered the war, Ricardo Burzi was interned on the Isle of Man due to being an 'Italian resident alien' and only released after Leonard Lord pulled some strings and personally vouched for his character. Upon release he was allowed to work on condition that he worked in an isolated area and reported daily to the police. He designed the Austin Sheerline alongside the Austin A40 in a 30 ft long office and about half as wide with a full sized layout board and three desks. Initially a Plasticine model was created with a full size wooden "Mock-up" model completed by 1946.
The Austin Sheerline was the first Austins to have a 'Flying A' bonnet mascot and 'Austin of England' script. Austin Chairman, Sir Leonard Lord, owned a Bentley during the war and the story goes that he took the Bentley 'Flying B' bonnet mascot from his personal Bentley and gave it to Austin designer Ricardo Burzi to create something similar. In one day, Burzi altered the slope of the 'B' and formed a stylized 'A' attaching a skeletal wing to the trailing edge and wrapped it in foil. This mascot became Austin's logo and featured on all models until the 1960s.
Volume production did not begin until 1947 because of Austin Motors commitment to war production.
In 1949 a limousine model was produced on a stretched 11 ft chassis, Twelve and a half inches had been added to the wheelbase as well as a sliding glass partition behind the driver an foldaway occasional seating.
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Austin Sheerline
The Austin Sheerline is a large luxury car produced by Austin in the United Kingdom from 1947 until 1954.
The new Sheerline, with razor-edge styling, first appeared at the Geneva Motor Show on 13 March 1947.
It was a luxurious car in the style of the contemporary Rolls-Royce or Bentley but at a much lower price, around two-thirds that of the equivalent Rolls-Royce but still the price of five or six small Austins.
Design began in 1942 during WW2 when Austin Motors Chairman, Sir Leonard Lord, decided that Austin needed a large and traditionally styled car to compete in the luxury car market.
Argentine/Italian stylist, Ricardo Burzi designed the Austin Sheerline based on Leonard Lord's sketches. The day Italy entered the war, Ricardo Burzi was interned on the Isle of Man due to being an 'Italian resident alien' and only released after Leonard Lord pulled some strings and personally vouched for his character. Upon release he was allowed to work on condition that he worked in an isolated area and reported daily to the police. He designed the Austin Sheerline alongside the Austin A40 in a 30 ft long office and about half as wide with a full sized layout board and three desks. Initially a Plasticine model was created with a full size wooden "Mock-up" model completed by 1946.
The Austin Sheerline was the first Austins to have a 'Flying A' bonnet mascot and 'Austin of England' script. Austin Chairman, Sir Leonard Lord, owned a Bentley during the war and the story goes that he took the Bentley 'Flying B' bonnet mascot from his personal Bentley and gave it to Austin designer Ricardo Burzi to create something similar. In one day, Burzi altered the slope of the 'B' and formed a stylized 'A' attaching a skeletal wing to the trailing edge and wrapped it in foil. This mascot became Austin's logo and featured on all models until the 1960s.
Volume production did not begin until 1947 because of Austin Motors commitment to war production.
In 1949 a limousine model was produced on a stretched 11 ft chassis, Twelve and a half inches had been added to the wheelbase as well as a sliding glass partition behind the driver an foldaway occasional seating.