23 JUNE 1939, Page 32

The Austin Eight The new 8 - h.p. Austin is the model

which has taken the place of what must certainly have been one of the world's most famous cars, the first and, at any rate until very recent times, the most immediately successful baby car ever made. It was inevitable that its day should pass. Today the Baby Austin world wants more power and more room, and although there is a certain amount of learned, or perhaps inspired, talk about Fives and Sixes being built to save a couple of pounds off the new tax, I shall be very much sur- prised if such a car is built on a serious scale. Eight is the normal minimum horsepower for these days, and a healthy eight at that, capable of carting three or four people about in all circumstances at a fair average speed and a maximum of well over so miles an hour.