Winston Churchills Austin westminster

carchaeologist · 20-09-2009 11:46pm #1

Apparently the car below was used by Winston Churchill,and being a two door,it was supposedly the only one of its type made.Does anyone know anything of it,or have info or pics of it when it was on the road?
There was alot of uproar at the time it was Banger raced,due to its rarity,the owner was meant to have been offered good money for the car,but wouldnt take it so it was wrecked.

manta mad · 21-09-2009 9:33am

if its true !!

its a bloody shame :mad:

how many rare & classics have been destroyed by bloody banger racing ?

too many id say . what a waste

PaulK_CCI · 21-09-2009 2:59pm

I doubt very much this story is true, the good man himself died in 1965 at the age of 90, and the Farina shape Cambridge/Westminster came out in 59, which means if he were to have owned one, he would have bought it new at the age of 85 !!!!

I'd say the story came into being because of the fact that Churchill owned and used an Austin Cambridge as his personal transport from 1938 until 1950!! At the time, being driven in a Cambridge as prime minister/statesman was considered remarkable, as the cambridge was more or less the austin equivalent of a Ford Cortina...

Also I have never come accross a two door Farina Cambridge. There was a preproduction 2 door A40 Cambrdige, if I recall correctly, but never an A55 mk2, A60 model...

carchaeologist · 21-09-2009 5:18pm

PaulK_CCI wrote: »

I doubt very much this story is true, the good man himself died in 1965 at the age of 90, and the Farina shape Cambridge/Westminster came out in 59, which means if he were to have owned one, he would have bought it new at the age of 85 !!!!

I'd say the story came into being because of the fact that Churchill owned and used an Austin Cambridge as his personal transport from 1938 until 1950!! At the time, being driven in a Cambridge as prime minister/statesman was considered remarkable, as the cambridge was more or less the austin equivalent of a Ford Cortina...

Also I have never come accross a two door Farina Cambridge. There was a preproduction 2 door A40 Cambrdige, if I recall correctly, but never an A55 mk2, A60 model...

Thanks for that paul,thats the kind of answer i was after.Still doesnt explain how this one is a 2door though,maybe a coachbuilt job afterwards?

Thinkingaboutit · 21-09-2009 11:39pm

Churchill's Cambridge was auctioned

Not his Cambridge, his one is now is some collection somewhere, most likely in a temperature controlled garage, not like my 16/60, which is in a small unheated peasant garage of mine.

carchaeologist · 21-09-2009 11:59pm

Excellent stuff there.:)

G Luxel · 22-09-2009 12:39am

Banger racing a 2 dr Westminister....these people dont have a clue..

but wasnt there another car for sale about ten years ago or more, an Austin Princess Hearse used for his funeral?......

MorrisCooper · 22-09-2009 5:09pm

Considering he would have been chauffeur-driven following his stint in Downing Street, I couldn't see him squeezing his way into the back of any 2-door vehicle.

carchaeologist · 22-09-2009 6:29pm

MorrisCooper wrote: »

Considering he would have been chauffeur-driven following his stint in Downing Street, I couldn't see him squeezing his way into the back of any 2-door vehicle.

Again i thought this,but there was alot of talk at the time that it was his,so i dont know.

Vanguard3 · 05-02-2017 12:18am

This did not belong to Winston Churchill. It was one of a batch of 1961/62 cars converted on the Isle of Wight. This example once belonged to Lord Kenilworth of Armstrong Siddeley and at one time had a sphinx mascot on the bonnet. Go to Gaydon and check it out

Cheers

Nick

Vanguard3 · 05-02-2017 12:25am

The 2 door A40/A50 Cambridge was available for about 3 months in 1954. It was basic with sliding windows

Winston Churchills Austin westminster

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