The Austin Motor Company returns with the electric Arrow

The Austin name is making a comeback, rekindled in the 21st century as a maker of electric quadricycles. In 2019 engineer John Stubbs re-registered the Austin trademarks. He then re-established the Austin Motor Company. Its new management team has given rise to the Austin Arrow.

Harking back to the Austin Seven from 1922, this versatile small car put Britain on the move. The original company kicked off in 1900 after engineer Herbert Austin won first prize in the 1000 Mile Great Britain Trial. He won with a four-wheeler powered by a horizontal single-cylinder engine. After five years of building Wolseley cars he founded the Austin Motor Company in Longbridge. The first car he produced in 1906 was a 25hp Endcliffe Phaeton costing £650.

Fast forward 120 years, and the new Austin Motor Company is committed to sustainable and environmental mobility solutions. It aims to produce a range of vehicles, drawing on the heritage of a company with a long history. 

Its first offering is a retro-looking roadster with wire-spoke 18-inch wheels, drum brakes, leaf rear suspension, small wing mirrors and an upright grille. It is tiny, just 3.7m long, 1.5m wide and 1.2m tall, on a 2.4m wheelbase. The two-seater weighs 445kg while its 20kWh lithium-ion battery pack is 160kg, so all up you’re looking at a 605kg EV. The motor outputs 15kW but it can get to its top speed of 100km/h in 7.8sec. Range is 160km. The charge time is evidently three hours.

The company head, Nigel Gordon-Stewart, says: “The Arrow is targeted at people…with a bit of disposable income who want something different to drive on a Sunday. It’s based on the L7e regulations, so it’s a quadricycle akin to a Citroen Ami or the Renault Twizy.

“The difference here is that there’s no windscreen or roof and your ass is sitting just above the ground.”

“We’ll be following up with a second car fairly soon, which, I believe, will really take us to the next level.”

And that would be a city car. He continued: “The Super Seven was effectively the first real urban city car, alongside the Mini. It worked at the time because it was a pre-emptive response to the fuel crisis of the early ‘70s, and it made huge sense. It was cool too. We’re looking at this as a potential opportunity.

“There’s very little that Austin hasn’t done. What we’ve got here is a brand with a fascinating past, and an enormous capacity to go where we want to go.”

Meantime, the Austin Arrow is available directly from The Austin Motor Company Limited or through a dealer network in development.