Description Ex-Royal Artillery; formerly in the Roy Jackson collection; only 29,630 miles indicated; recently recommissioned following a period in storage; pleasingly original; one of fewer than 13,000 made; interesting alternative to a Series Land Rover; would sit well in any military vehicle collection 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 Willys Jeep.

The first prototypes were tested in 1947 and production commenced in 1951.

Officially known as the ‘FV1801A Truck, ¼ ton, 4x4, CT, Austin Mk

I’, 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 ba...