Buying Guide

Austin A30/A35

The Peanut. Even the nickname sounds cute, and the diddy dimensions certainly endow these little Austins with a unique charm.

But don’t let the size fool you, because the A30 and later A35 punch well above their weight when it comes to classic appeal. And the icing on the cake is that they also make a great basis for giant-killing historic racers, so track-based fun is yours for the taking, too.

But we’ll stick to the road for the moment. Launched at the 1951 Earls Court Motor Show, the A30 brought numerous innovations with it, including being the first mass-production Austin car without a separate chassis.

The range would grow to encompass two- and four-door saloons, a Countryman estate and a van. All were powered by the 803cc A-series engine, and what this diminutive motor lacked in outright performance – a mere 28bhp and 63mph was on offer – it made up for with bags of enthusiasm. In 1956, it was replaced by the revised A35, which featured a painted grille and larger rear window, along with a slightly more powerful 948cc engine. Now you had a tempting 34bhp to play with, and performance was certainly a touch more sprightly. A slicker, remote gearchange featured too, so wringing the maximum from the little A-series was no chore, while the nimble handling was still present. And once again, buyers could choose from saloon, Countryman and van models. The van was the longest-lived, remaining in production until 1968; the saloons had departed in 1959.

More than half a million examples of these tiddlers were made in total and there’s still a decent choice today, although you shouldn’t underestimate the task of restoring a bad one. But with tidy, usable cars temptingly affordable at just a few thousand pounds, it’s a lot of charm for not much cash.

‘They punch well above their weight when it comes to classic appeal’