Meet The Owner – Malcolm Cross and His Austin A90 Westminster

The classic car world is rife with temptation. Last month, you vowed never to buy another vehicle, but you heard the siren call of classified advertising. And it is very hard to resist Malcolm Cross’s 1955 Austin A90 Westminster.

When Austin unveiled the A90 Westminster Six (as it was first known) at the 1954 London Motor Show –

– it marked a considerable departure from the outgoing A70 Hereford. Not only was it their first vehicle powered by the BMC C-Series 2.6-litre engine, but it was their first sizeable unitary-bodied saloon. In appearance, the Westminster resembled the 1½ litre A40/A50 Cambridge, but while they had doors in common, the A90 had a wider track, modified suspension and longer wheelbase.

The standard A90 cost £791 12s 6d, while Malcolm’s Westminster is the £834 2s 6d De Luxe, with a heater, a clock, carpets in place of rubber mats, a folding rear armrest, a glove box lock and leather upholstery as standard. One advantage over the A70 was the new four-speed gearbox with baulk-ring synchromesh for better changes with the steering column lever.

In the 1950s, many Austin owners liked to regard themselves as slightly above their Ford or Vauxhall-driving neighbours. Malcolm’s A90’s duotone paintwork gives it a jaunty but never flamboyant air, for this is definitely not a car for spivs or teddy boys. In fact, Austin’s first owner was a Bradford police officer, while many constabularies favoured A90 patrol cars.

Austin promoted the A90 as ‘“The car so many people are proud to own”, with an appeal to the discerning motorist. The 90-mph top speed appealed to the would-be Stirling Moss. At the same time, its ability to cruise at 75 mph made the Westminster ideal for trunk roads. One journalist referred to it as “a medium size car with an exceptional road performance, selling at a price which should enable it to compete on more than level terms with the best of similar models made abroad”.

The A90 gained a vast amount of publicity when Richard Pape drove a Westminster from the North Artic Cape to Cape Town, covering 17,500 miles. “Achievements like this, made with a standard production A90, show the ordinary motorist what reserves of power and stamina he commands in the Westminster,” boasted Austin. The message was clear: there was a motor car for the Jack Hawkins-style motorist, with or without a duffle coat. Here is some splendid newsreel footage of the Westminster in action:

In terms of competitors, the A90 was Longbridge’s alternative to the E-Series Vauxhall Velox and the Ford Zephyr-Six Mk.1. Your friendly local dealer could also point out that it had six cylinders, compared with the Standard Vanguard Phase II’s four – a central selling point in 1955. That year saw the launch of the Morris Isis, the Westminster’s in-house British Motor Corporation rival that shared the C-Series engine, but the Austin constantly outsold it.

The original “Cow Hip” Westminster was replaced by the “Long Tail” A95/A105 in the autumn of 1956. Malcolm has reluctantly had to part with his A90 due to health concerns, and we hope its new custodian appreciates the Austin’s genuine style, elegance and charisma. It really is the sort of car that belongs to a realm of Alma Cogan records at the Palais de Danse.

With thanks to: Malcolm and Maureen Cross.