Austin

In October 1947 Austin presented the A40 Devon and Dorset at the Paris Motor Show. They were body-on-frame designs with modern bodies and independent front suspension. The Devon was the four-door version and was more successful than the two-door Dorset, which was dropped in 1949 after only 15,939 were made. A "countryman" station wagon was produced up until 1956, a van and pickup truck were also available. When Austin's chairman Leonard Lord saw the Jensen Interceptor, he requested that Jensen develop a body that could use the A40 mechanicals. The resulting A40 Sports was designed by Eric Neale, a stylist who had joined Jensen in 1946 after working at Wolseley Motors. It debuted at the 1949 London Motor Show as a four-passenger, aluminium-bodied convertible. Production began in November 1950 and by the time production ended in 1953, just over 4,000 had been manufactured.

In 1952 the A40 Devon was replaced by the A40 Somerset. It featured an updated body style with flowing lines as distinct from the Devon's bulky looking body, resembling the larger Austin A70 Hereford, Initially the Somerset wad offered only as a four-door saloon, a two-door convertible was introduced in late 1952. Oddly enough, this model was marketed as the Austin A40 Somerset coupé. Over 173,000 Somersets were sold before it was replaced by the A40 Cambridge in 1954, of which 7,243 were convertibles.