Austin A40 Farina
The Austin A40 Farina is a small, economy car introduced by Austin in saloon (1958) and A40 Countryman (1959) estate versions. It has a two-box body configuration. It was badged, like many before it, as an A40, consistent with Austin's naming scheme at the time, based on the approximate engine output in horsepower; and to distinguish it from other A40 models, it was also given a suffix name – this one being the Farina, reflecting the all-new design by Italian Battista Farina's Pinin Farina Turin studio.
| Austin A40 Farina | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Austin (BMC) Innocenti |
| Also called | Austin A40 Futura |
| Production | 1958–1967 342,162 |
| Assembly | United Kingdom Australia Mexico South Africa Netherlands |
| Designer | Pinin Farina |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Compact car / Economy car (C) |
| Body style | 2-door saloon 3-door hatchback 3-door van |
| Layout | FR layout |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Austin A35 |
| Successor | Austin 1100 |
Austin had been merged into the British Motor Corporation (BMC) in 1952 and – unusually for BMC at the time – the A40 Farina was sold only as an Austin and not rebadged for sale under any other BMC brands. The Farina was the first Austin A40 not named after a county of England, and the last in the Austin A40 line.
The 1959 A40 Countryman version stands out by its layout as a small estate car with an upward (and downward) opening tailgate, and is therefore viewed as one of the earliest examples of a volume production hatchback.