Austin J40 pedal car on display at the Classic Car show, NEC Birmingham, 15-17 November 2013Opening of the car exhibition,1953
The Austin J40 was a luxuriously appointed pedal car as a children's toy, which was manufactured to order by Austin in Bargoed, Wales.
History
The Austin J40 was born from a social employment project in Wales. Miners who had been declared unfit for work because of black lungs were able to participate in this project that was set up for them. The material came from waste material from the Austin factory in Longbridge.[1][2] Apart from the fact that this company offered work to the ex-miners, it also offered a good training ground for future managers of the Austin Motor Company in dealing with personnel.[3] The company employed 250 men.
The 1946 prototype, the Joy1, was based on the 1940 Austin 8 road car. Following the Joy2, Joy3 and Joy4 prototypes, the Pathfinder came in 1949, with a body based on the 1930s OHV Austin Seven Racer.[1][4] Production started in July 1949 at a small factory, the Austin Junior Car Factory, in Bargoed in South Wales, but ended in 1950 due to disappointing sales figures.[1] Its successor was the Austin Junior 40 (J40), which was based on the popular Austin A40 Devon and Dorset model and went into production from 1950.[2] It featured an opening bonnet, an imitation engine with real spark plugs, battery powered headlights, a horn, a seat upholstered in imitation leather, an imitation instrument panel, detachable wheels with Dunlop tyres, an opening boot lid and a handbrake.[4] Furthermore, many parts were chrome-plated. In 1957, a lengthened version with a working petrol engine in the boot and rear-axle drive was released, and in which the pedals were omitted.[5]
The J40 was initially intended as an export item to the United States, but later also to Canada and Denmark.[4] In the Netherlands, the Austin J40 was imported by the company R.S. Stokvis. Every year, rallies for children are still held at the Goodwood circuit, since the Austin J40 Pedal Car Club was founded in 1983.[3] Furthermore, the cars were used for traffic lessons for children, in a merry-go-round at fairs and as an advertising object. A number of copies were also converted with a petrol engine. Up to the end of production in 1971, 32,098 copies of the J40 were sold.[4]
The car was available in various colours and a red one was also used as an attraction for taking children's photos, such as at Diergaarde Blijdorp in Rotterdam.[citation needed]
In 2022, British company Burlen Fuel Systems acquired the rights to the Austin Pedal Cars name and subsequently revealed a new Austin J40 at the Goodwood Revival later that year.[6][7]The car entered production in 2023, featuring a hand-formed aluminium body, hand stitched leather seat and electronic instrument gauges, priced at £25,000.[8][9]
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