Austin 1800
The Landcrab: wide, roomy and almost unbreakable.

The story
Issigonis scaled up his front-wheel-drive idea once more to make a big family car. It had a vast cabin and an immensely stiff body. It won European Car of the Year for 1965 but never sold as well as hoped.
Inside
Limousine legroom, a full-width parcel shelf instead of a dashboard and a handbrake that sprouts from under it like an umbrella handle.
In period colours
Tap a colour to respray the drawing.
Rally crews gave it the Landcrab nickname. One finished second in the 1968 London to Sydney Marathon.
Meanwhile, in 1964
BBC2 went on air, Top of the Pops began and the Beatles conquered America.
Best-selling single of 1964: Can't Buy Me Love by The Beatles
Before you buy a 1960s car
- Check the sills, floorpans, wheel arches and the bottom of the doors for rust.
- Ask for any old MOT certificates, service records and bills.
- Parts for popular cars are often available from specialists, but trim and body panels can be hard to find.
General notes, not specific to this model. Check the model's own history before buying.
Rivals of its day
Picked automatically: cars on sale at the same time with similar size, speed and price.
See the real thing
These open in a new tab: the car on Wikimedia Commons, the interior and the badge as Google image searches.
Today's money: the launch price adjusted for inflation to 2026, using the Office for National Statistics price index.