The First Austin Seven - 1922
Sir Herbert Austin in XL1 the first Chummy prototype April - July 1922.
Three prototypes were produced during this period, XL1,XL2 and XL3. The 'AB' model was produced from January, 1923. Chassis numbers 1 - 100 featured the original 696 cc engines with no running boards. The 747 cc engine was introduced from chassis number 101 and Hartford shock absorbers from chassis number 3145. A number of other Chummy models followed. The 'AC' model from June 1924 and the 'AD' model from February, 1926 are two such examples. The 'AD' model from chassis number 17074 featured 6 inches brake drums. Many variations took place over the years of production, one excellent reference on this topic is 'The Original Austin Seven' by Rinsey Mills (photographs by the author and Paul Debois) ISBN 1 870979 68 0. See The Austin Seven in Print.