30-12-2019, 04:47 PM
As background for a talk I give on Austin 7s through the decades I did some research regarding various costs of motoring in 1933, when compared to today.
Many will already know, so apologies to you all, but this might be new to some. Tax was based on a 'horsepower' calculation from the RAC. But it wasn't the 13BHP we think about, it was based on piston size, being:
diameter x diameter x number of pistons, all divided by 2.5.
For the Austin 7 this gives 7.8 and a charge of £8, or around £500 in today's money.
It was the original 696cc version which gave an RAC horsepower calculation of 7.2 and so the name Austin 7.
Andy B
Many will already know, so apologies to you all, but this might be new to some. Tax was based on a 'horsepower' calculation from the RAC. But it wasn't the 13BHP we think about, it was based on piston size, being:
diameter x diameter x number of pistons, all divided by 2.5.
For the Austin 7 this gives 7.8 and a charge of £8, or around £500 in today's money.
It was the original 696cc version which gave an RAC horsepower calculation of 7.2 and so the name Austin 7.
Andy B
Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think!