Wikipedia

 

The American Austin was a United States version of the Austin Seven automobile manufactured by the American Austin Car Company from 1930 to 1937. The automobile was designed in the hopes of creating a market for small-car enthusiasts in the United States. The cars had four-cylinder engines and looked something like small Chevrolets with Stutz and Marmon-style horizontal hood louvres. The coupe was billed as a sedan, and sold for $445, slightly less than a Ford V8 roadster. The Great Depression made the cheaper secondhand cars more appealing, so sales dropped off. Somewhat more than 8000 cars were sold during the company's first year of sales, but sales fell off to the point that production was suspended from 1934 to 1937. That year the car reappeared, redesigned (by Alexis de Sakhnoffsky) and rechristened the American Bantam.

From the 1960's onwards it gained a following with drag racers, who used them as base material for altereds. These were hybrid of street driven hot rod and all out drag racing machine.