1959 Austin Nash MetropolitanReg.

no.

318 CHTChassis no.

UnknownEngine no.

UnknownThe post-war American car industry was dominated by the Detroit-based ‘big three’ of Ford, General Motors and Chrysler.

Other manufacturers therefore often felt they had to try to do something different to catch the buying public’s imagination, or tap into a niche that the big three had not yet noticed.

One such company was Nash, who introduced some interesting cars – the wind-tunnel-honed Airflyte was one, with an interior that converted to a bed, while the 1950 Nash Rambler was one of America’s first successful post-war ‘compact’ cars.

In 1952, though, Nash decided they should try to sell something even smaller, so entered into an agreement with Austin of England to make the Metropolitan.

The bodies were made by Pressed Steel Fisher, with final assembly completed by Austin at Longbridge using their own running gear.

Complete cars were then sent to the US for sale through Nash dealers, starting ...