Austin Champ

The Austin Champ came about in the late 1940s in response to an order from the British Army to develop an all-terrain vehicle comparable to the American Jeep. The first prototypes were tested in 1947 and production commenced in 1951.

Officially known as the ‘FV1801A Truck, ¼ ton, 4x4, CT, Austin MkI’, it featured an open four-seater tub made of pressed steel with fully independent suspension all round using torsion bars and double wishbones. Power came from a Rolls-Royce designed 2.8-litre four-cylinder engine mated to an all-synchromesh gearbox with five forward and five reverse gears – so it could theoretically achieve its maximum speed of 50mph going both forwards and backwards!

Both engine and ‘box were designed with absolute reliability as the prime target and were waterproofed so that the vehicle could operate in up to 6ft of water when the snorkel attached to the air cleaner was deployed. A 20-gallon fuel tank gave it a range of 300 miles.

Although it proved to have outstanding cross-country abilities, at £1,200 the Champ was far too expensive and in the end only around 12,000 of the 15,000 vehicles ordered were made. Its role was largely taken over by the Land-Rover which could perform 80% of its tasks at half the price with much simpler maintenance.

As a letter in the history file from the Champ Register confirms, this particular vehicle entered Army service in June 1953 with 1st Vehicle Group at Ashchurch in Gloucestershire. It was taken out of service in 1962 and sold at auction the following year, being first registered for civilian use in February 1964. The original green log book shows that it then had two owners in the Leominster and Malvern areas.

About 10 years ago the vehicle was found languishing in a barn by the previous owner who set about a thorough recommissioning. This included fitting a new back axle, new tyres, new seat covers and a new hood. Granted an MOT and put back on the road in 2005, it has since seen only light use, mainly driving to local shows and the 33,000 miles on the clock is quite possibly genuine.

Said to be in excellent running order and still with its original engine fitted, it comes with various military accessories such as pick-axe, shovel and jerry can, plus various invoices for the restoration and subsequent maintenance. Although the last MOT expired in October 2011, it is thought that getting a new one should be no more than a formality (although, being a pre-1960 vehicle, it does not require an MOT in any case).