Austin Motor Company brought back to life, with all-electric Austin Arrow

  • Previously defunct British motor manufacturer, Austin Motor Company, has been brought back to life – with a fully-electric take on the Austin Seven, called the Arrow.
  • The electric transition started when now Austin Motor Company owner, John Stubbs, was able to purchase the rights to the Austin name and trademark for just £170 ($211).
  • The Arrow is the first car to be born from the brand’s rebirth: a two-seater roadster inspired by the original Austin Seven from 1922 – but this time, with an all-electric drivetrain in place of the original’s internal combustion engine.

Austin brand comes back for the electric era with the Arrow

While the Austin Arrow is still a relatively niche product, it comes into an ever-growing market of classic electric cars – from like-new restomods from firms such as Everrati, simple conversions, and all-new vehicles inspired by original designs, such as the Austin Arrow.

Photo Credit: Rod Kirkpatrick/RKP Photography

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Performance-wise, the Austin Arrow uses a 15kW, rear driven electric motor to propel it to a top speed of 60mph – which takes just eight seconds, thanks to the Arrow’s light footprint of 605kg. A 20kW battery pack offers a range of up to 119 miles.

With a starting price of £31,000, Austin Motor Company aims to limit production to 120 cars this year, in a nod to the number of the original Austin Sevens produced in its first year of production – though the firm does plan to scale up production further down the line. Austin currently employs ten staff at its Essex facility, but does plan to extend production to India to create more powerful editions of the Arrow and to start developing other models for the brand.

John Stubbs, Owner of Austin Motor Company, commented on the first car out of the relaunch:

“It felt like the eyes of Sir Herbert Austin were watching me. Almost as if I needed his approval to build a heritage Austin. Austin Sevens were simple cars. They were lightweight and easy to modify – so they were used for everything – from family cars to racers. So I wanted to try and inject the same feeling and emotion into the new car – to capture the simplicity and spirit of early motoring, but with a modern electric twist. Our first car, The Arrow, is half a kilo lighter than the original 1922 car. We build and manufacture everything from scratch here in Essex.”

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