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 companion Princess 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.
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).
One model policy
Before the First World War Austin had produced a range of expensive cars including a 3.6-litre 20-hp car but, influenced by the manufacturing philosophy of Henry Ford, Herbert Austin decided that the future was in mass-producing a single model and chose that size. The Longbridge plant had been considerably enlarged for wartime production, and it was there that the company had a base to put the theory into practice now with the capacity to manufacture 150 cars a week.
During the war Austin had owned an American Hudson Super Six which he clearly admired. Its overall layout would form a basis for the design of the new one model car policy. The car would, however, prove to be too large for the home market, only about 3,000 Twenties had been sold by July 1920.
Massed motor-car production, the first British example
Perhaps hoping to help The Times published a long item at the beginning of June 1920 in which they professed admiration for Austin's enterprise in launching on the British market "a car made on American lines". The result, they said, "is good but not of the class of the old 20-hp. It would have been wiser to have given the new car a new name. The whole finish is poor. The engine vibrates at anything over moderate speeds and sometimes at low speeds. It is difficult to access the power unit and the whole car is difficult to associate with the 10-hp and 15-hp, the famous 18-hp and the 20-hp which did so well in the 1914 Alpine Trials.
"However it is true the car is an excellent hill-climber, runs very quietly, accelerates rapidly and has very good steering. The (unfortunately) central gear change is good if a shade is coarse. The wheel brakes worked by their side lever are excellent", but the transmission brake worked by the pedal was described as "indifferent". "The car holds the road well at any speed and the springing is good. The coachwork is comfortable enough but the open body is rather ugly".
Summing up the motoring correspondent suggested that "if pains were taken to damp out engine vibration and a slightly higher price set which would allow more 'spit and polish'...Austin will do a lasting service to the country and their shareholders".
Receivership for Austin
The one-model policy was rapidly dropped in mid-1921 when Austin's company was placed in receivership. Six months later in November 1921 Austin launched his Austin Twelve, in many ways a scaled-down Twenty.
Four-cylinder engine
The engine with its 95 mm bore and 127 mm stroke had a cast-iron cylinder block with detachable cylinder head mounted on top of an aluminium crankcase. It developed 45 bhp at 2000 rpm. As an advance on pre-war practice, the engine was directly bolted to the four-speed centre-change gearbox, which drove the rear wheels through an open propeller shaft.
Chassis
The chassis, based on that of the Hudson, was conventional, with semi-elliptic leaf springs on all wheels and rigid axles front and rear. Wooden-spoked artillery-style wheels were fitted. Initially brakes were on the rear wheels, only but front wheel brakes were fitted as standard from 1925 and at the same time the wheels became steel-spoked.
Body
At its 1919 introduction three body types were listed; a tourer, coupé and landaulette. These were joined in 1921 by the Ranelagh fixed head, two-door, coupé. For 1922 the Grosvenor limousine and landaulette, a Ranelagh four-door, fixed head, coupé and Westminster drop-head coupé were added.