Lot 509: 1970 Austin 1800 Rally Car

The Alec Issigonis-designed Austin 1800 was an instant hit in the 1960s. A roomy, comfortable five-seater possessing an astonishing ride, the ‘land crab’ was endowed with handling qualities that had road testers describing it as a ‘big Mini’. Its ride quality is still outstanding today. Although the Mini Cooper was BMC’s frontline rally car during the mid/late 1960s, the famous Abingdon Competitions Department prepared and entered the 1800 in some of the tougher, long-distance events. Among contemporary models only a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow boasted a torsionally stiffer bodyshell, and the works found little strengthening was needed to enable the 1800 to survive the world’s worst goat-tracks. The car’s first major success came in 1967 when Tony Fall won the Danube Rally outright against stiff opposition that included works Renault Alpines and Porsche 911s. The following year Abingdon built a fleet to compete in the London to Sydney Marathon. Paddy Hopkirk’s car finished a close second, having led for some of the sections across the Australian Outback; had it not pulled Andrew Cowan’s Hillman Hunter off a termite mound and stopped to help at an accident scene, it would have won. All five cars entered finished the event in the top 25 places. The following year, Andrew Cowan won the Southern Cross Rally driving an ex-works 1800 but by then the car’s best achievements were behind it.
Restored in 2006, this car is a faithful replica of the Hopkirk 1800 that now stands in the Gaydon Museum. And while most of the works 1800s still survive, an example in this condition is a rarity. Little touches like the central jack support protruding from the front lower valence; the ’roo bar; correct Lucas lights and air-horns; the foot-ramp at the rear bumper: all indicate the hours of painstaking research that have gone into making this car totally authentic. The interior (with seats based on correct Mini Cooper frames) is exactly as the works team cars’, right down to pen-holders, rear seat, recliner for the navigator, and correct rollover bar. There is a hydrolastic suspension pump on the rear parcel shelf (not connected) and additional long-range fuel tank in the boot (not piped in) with mountings for spare Minilites on the roof. The engine is brand new and is rated at 140bhp on twin SUs.
This car has never been rallied, and has covered fewer than 50 miles since being acquired by the Endurance Rally Association. Painted in correct Abingdon livery of red with Snowberry White roof, it benefits from recent refurbishment by Simon Ayris of Rally Preparation Services in Witney, and is ‘on the button’ and freshly MoT’d. Representing a refreshingly different addition to today’s Historic Rally scene, this car is a potential ‘giant killer’ in the right hands.