Given its name by an Australian journalist after watching them corner sideways in rally racing, the Austin 1800, or Land Crab as it’s colloquially known, was plugged as the ‘Car of the Century’, and very nearly pulled it off.
Its transverse drivetrain and front wheel drive layout was developed from the Mini’s blueprint and set a framework that’s followed by most modern cars, and it had the handling; cue tales of adventures in the Austin 1800 Ute, space and reliability to make it an everyday classic in Australia.
To find out more about 1965’s Car of the Century, head to the Shannons Club here for Austin 1800: The Land Crab in a Sea of Barges.
Thanks to the Shannons Club
Image thanks to
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