1950s US mini car vies with quirky Czech V8 at auto auction

The Yanks have long been known for their love affair with large cars. From the bewinged behemoths of the 1950s to the full-sized pickups of today, Americans have always prized poundage in their personal transport.

But alongside the goliaths that pound US freeways there’s always been a smattering of small cars, as attested to by this 1950s Nash Metropolitan.

At a time when bigger was definitely better the little two-door Nash was marketed as just the thing to occupy space in the family garage alongside the home grown Chevys, Chryslers and Fords.   

Despite being designed in the US with that market in mind, the Metropolitan was built at the Austin Motor Company’s plant in Longbridge, UK, and powered by an Austin 1.5-litre A40 four-cylinder.

In the US the Nash Metropolitan was regarded as something of an oddity, although motoring writers at the time spoke favourably of its nimble handling and excellent fuel economy.

Just under 100,000 examples were built between 1953 and 1961, most of them in left-hand drive.

An estimated 9,000 right hand drive versions, initially badged as Austin Metropolitan but eventually simply the Metropolitan, were built for the UK market from 1956.

It’s one of these rare right-hook Metropolitans that will be offered for sale at the forthcoming Shannons Spring Classic Auction.

The car is believed to have been delivered new to either Australia or New Zealand and was the subject of a cosmetic restoration in the 1970s.

A long period in storage followed before the Metropolitan was put on the road again, following some much needed attention to things like its brakes and whitewall tyres.

Shannons expects the Metropolitan to catch the eye of a collector or enthusiast at its upcoming spring auction, where it’s expected to fetch somewhere between $8,000 and $12,000.

Sharing the bill with the Metropolitan will be an even stranger machine, a 1974 version of the Czech-built Tatra 603 sedan.

While the Metropolitan was quirky to look at but fairly conventionally engineered, the Tatra is quirky everywhere, with styling bordering on the bizarre and engineering that defies convention.

A sort of early generation Chevy Corvair, the big four-door sedan was powered by an air-cooled, alloy 2.5-litre V8 engine mounted behind the rear wheels, Volkswagen (and Porsche) style. This later-model 603 uses four headlights where the original had a Cyclops-like swivelling central light, and two conventional outboard units.

Despite the frightening proposition of a rear-mounted, outrigger V8 engine and swing axle rear suspension, the big Tatra had a relatively successful race history, participating in long-distance events including the 1964 Spa-Sofia-Liege marathon and the Marathon de la Route in 1965, 1966 and 1967.

Manufactured from 1956 to 1975, the Tatra 603 was never sold in Australia, but this example is expected to sell for between $14,000 and $18,000 at the Shannons Melbourne Spring Classic Auction on August 27.

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