Austin A40: from Devon to Farina, the small Austin that kept reinventing itself (1947–1967)

Few badges in the whole catalogue worked harder for Austin than A40. Across twenty years it named the Devon that went out and earned Britain’s export dollars, the rounded and respectable Somerset, a Jensen-bodied convertible, and finally the Pininfarina-suited Farina whose crisp two-box shape quietly sketched the modern hatchback before the world had invented a word for it. Over 850,000 cars wore the badge, the clubs keep both eras thriving, and the Austin A40 family remains one of the friendliest and best-supported entry points into the whole post-war hobby.

Devon: the car that earned the dollars

The 1947 A40 Devon (with its two-door Dorset sibling) was Longbridge’s answer to export-or-die: Austin’s first new post-war design, carrying the company’s first new engine, the tough 1200cc overhead-valve four, in a sturdy separate-chassis package aimed squarely at dollar markets. The gamble worked handsomely; Devons sailed to America and across the Commonwealth in their hundreds of thousands, the vans and pick-ups put the badge to work at home, and the A40 became the quiet, uncomplaining workhorse of the whole Longbridge recovery. Survivors carry that story in every upright, sensible line.

Somerset and the softer fifties

The 1952 Somerset reskinned the recipe in the rounded style of the bigger Austins, all soft shoulders and chrome respectability, with the same dependable 1200 beneath. A factory drophead joined the range, rare and cherished now, and the Somerset sold steadily until 1954, when the A40 name went briefly to rest. These are the family’s gentlest cars, vintage in manner without vintage complication, and their club scene overlaps warmly with the pre-war Austin world on one side and the 1950s saloon scene on the other.

The Jensen connection: the A40 Sports

The family’s party piece came from West Bromwich: Jensen styled and built an aluminium four-seat convertible body on the A40 chassis, Austin fitted a twin-carburettor 46 bhp engine, and the A40 Sports (1950–53) gave the sensible badge a genuinely pretty open car, about 4,000 built. The relationship later brought Jensen the Austin-Healey body contract, making the little Sports a footnote in a much bigger story, and genuine examples, always scarce, are the family’s collector premium today.

Farina: the shape of things to come

The badge returned in 1958 on something quietly radical: the A40 Farina, Pininfarina’s crisp two-box body on A-series mechanicals shared with the A35. The 1959 Countryman version added a horizontally split tailgate that opened the whole tail, the hatchback idea a decade early, and design historians have credited the little Austin as the form’s ancestor ever since. The 1962 Mk II brought the 1098cc engine and a longer wheelbase, production ran to 1967, and the Farina’s giant-killing career in historic saloon racing keeps the shape famous on circuits today.

The Farina on track: historic racing royalty

The A40 Farina’s second career made it more famous than its first: light, boxy and beautifully balanced, it became a fixture of historic saloon racing, hustling around circuits in the touring-car classes where the little Austin regularly embarrasses machinery with several times its power, to crowds’ unfailing delight. Race preparation is a mature science, A-series tuning being the best-documented in the hobby, and competitive Farinas change hands in their own market well above road-car money. For the road-car owner the racing scene is pure benefit: it keeps panels, tuning parts and expertise in constant production, and it means an ordinary Farina arrives at any circuit event already carrying sporting credibility.

Buying an A40 today

Both eras of the family reward exactly the same discipline: structure first, everything else second. The early cars rot in their chassis outriggers, sills, wings and floors; the Farinas go in the sills, rear arches, valances and screen surrounds; and with values this gentle across the board, restoration must always be bought already done rather than commissioned at your own expense. Mechanical parts are outstanding for both generations, the 1200 shared across period Austins and the A-series supported by the vast A35 and Minor network. Sports and dropheads demand authenticity checks. Pick the era that suits your pace; the family welcomes both.

Values: honest money across two eras

One hundred and thirty-three measured sales at a £4,500 median price the family honestly: usable cars from £3,000, good Devons, Somersets and Farinas £4,500 to £8,000, Countrymen a step above, dropheads scarce and prized, and the Jensen-built Sports well into five figures. For cars this usable, this supported and this storied, the money remains gentle, and the Farina in particular, historic racing’s favourite giant-killer, looks like the family’s appreciating chapter.

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