Well Bought

Austin 3-Litre

It’s rare, but still an underdog.

The poor old 3-Litre was on a sticky wicket from the moment it was launched because while it was pitched at the plusher end of the market and viewed by BMC management as an Austin Westminster and Wolseley 6/110 replacement, it was actually more of a Ford Zephyr/Zodiac or Vauxhall Cresta/Viscount rival. And to make it worse, once BMC morphed into British Leyland it was up against in-house Rover P6 as well as Triumph 2000s and 2.5PIs. Today’s classic buyers tend to remember these latter cars in particular, which in turn holds back values of Austin’s imposing and spacious range-topper.

It has a growing – but still limited – market appeal.

It wasn’t until recently that buyers started waking up to the 3-Litre, but that has gone hand-in-hand with similarly growing interest in ‘Landcrabs’, whose values have undoubtedly firmed up. Strangely, while the 3-Litre is bigger and rarer, its values are, if anything, lower than those of Landcrabs. Today it’s almost something of a cult car – one that appeals to those who want to go the road less travelled and opt for something with prestige, but which is rather less obvious.

This one’s condition made it well worth seeking out.

Its first owner kept it until 1995 and there had been three subsequent keepers since then, which isn’t bad going over 25 years. Conditionwise, ACA said it had been off the road since 2003, but that it was solid, running and driving and had good brakes. With that in mind recommissioning might not have been a too difficult task and for today’s owner who is less likely to get their hands dirty, it wouldn’t have been beyond a decent garage’s capabilities to sort. The bodywork didn’t appear too bad at all and panel fit was good, while the large bumpers didn’t appear to be knocked or seriously rusty.

Rarity alone made this one well worth saving.

Big, rare and forgotten – just 9992 examples of the 3-Litre were built between 1967 and 1971, and only a smattering of survivors are left today – and yet there is something appealing about these big saloon. This late example had much in its favour and here was one big car that was definitely big on value. The buyer here did well to land this gentle giant for a few hundred quid below ACA’s preauction estimate.