Austin Nash Metropolitan (1954 – 1956) Review

The Nash Metropolitan was an interesting car, and which in a more favourable situation, might well have sold far more than it did. But it was a victim of confused identity, indifferent design, and simply being the wrong product at the wrong time. The Metropolitan was never actually badged an Austin at all, despite being built at Longbridge especially for the US market. Why did the deal between Nash and Austin come about? The American company wanted a small car, but had no experience of building one.

After being in production for three years, the Metropolitan went on sale in the UK from 1957, and was treated to the recently-upgraded 1489cc B-series in place of the original 1200. One strange quirk is the three-speed gearbox, an A50 four-speed with the slot for first blanked off. Both hardtop and convertible versions were built.