Austin Gipsy

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The Austin Motor Company enjoyed a modicum of success with the military-spec Champ. It was complex and expensive to build, so its commercial suitability was limited, especially as it did 8mpg on a good day, but the Army ordered plenty of them and it gave the company a great deal of experience with off-road vehicles.

Austin decided to take Land Rover on ‘head to head’ with something a bit more straightforward. The ability to design from scratch led to some innovative design features for the new car which was named the ‘Gipsy’ (spelt with an ‘i’ and not a ‘y’). The suspension was fully independent and used Alex Moulton-designed ‘Flexitor’ rubber springing coupled to trailing arms. These were discovered on a military trailer which was under test at MIRA, the system requiring no lubrication and being particularly suited to repeated bumps.

The chassis was a simple ladder affair, made from oval section rather than square, with an all-steel body adding to the rigidity of the whole structure, making the car particularly tough and strong. It was initially available with a 90” wheelbase, a longer 111” being introduced in 1962.

Powered by a rugged 2.1-litre 4-cylinder Austin Hereford engine, it could also be ordered with a similarly sized diesel unit, both coupled to a 4-speed gearbox with transfer box to lower the ratios and bring the front wheels into play. Rather more comfortable than the cart-sprung Land Rover, the Flexitor springs gave it a reputation for rather vague steering, eventually making way for more conventional semi-elliptic springs later in its production run.

In total 21,208 Gipsy cars left the works, the model being dropped only because of the British Leyland merger which brought the hugely successful Land Rover under the same roof.

This SWB example is one of the later leaf-sprung examples and has led a very easy life to date, much of it with the Auxiliary Fire Service. As with so many of their vehicles, they spent most of their time standing around doing nothing which explains why it has only covered 4,600 miles from new – that’s just 94 miles per year!

In unmolested condition, the chassis of the vehicle is described as wearing its original underseal and being in exceptional condition. Although the vehicle runs and drives, it has been some time since it has seen any exercise and is currently on SORN and will require some gentle recommissioning before it can return to the road.

Dressed in civilian clothes, this rare, ultra-low-mileage example makes a really interesting alternative to a Series 1 Land Rover or a Jeep and looks exceptional value at the suggested guide price.