Introduced for the 1939 season, the Austin Eight continued post-war almost unchanged, though the two-door and tourer models available pre-war were not re-introduced.

Although the Eight used a revised version of the 900cc four-cylinder sidevalve engine of the preceding Big Seven, the rest of the car was new, the chassis featuring a welded-in floor pan to which the body was bolted, forming a rigid structure that hinted at developments to come.

Running gear was more conventional, with beam axles and semi-elliptic springs at both ends, Girling mechanical brakes and a four-speed synchromesh gearbox.

Body styling was revised in the modern idiom and showed clear signs of transatlantic influence.

'On the open road it travels comfortably at 45 to 50mph - in other words, at the rate commonly employed by the majority of owners who use the car for pleasure - and will run up readily to over the 50 mark, proving capable of maintaining a speed close to its maximum without becoming bothered mechan...