Legendary British Car Brand Returns With An EV That Screams Old-School Quirkiness

In recent years, several famous names from the history of British carmaking have been resurrected years after they first disappeared. TVR was recently bought by Charge Holdings with a new plan to finally get the long-awaited Griffith into production, while Allard was brought back in 2020 by the family of the original founder. Now, it's the turn of Austin to make a comeback, with the revived brand's first new car soft launching earlier in 2025.

It's called the Arrow, and it reportedly takes styling inspiration from the Austin Seven of the 1920s. However, unlike the century-old classic, the latest Arrow is all-electric, and is designed to meet the U.K.'s L7e quadricycle regulations. Quadricycles — sometimes also called microcars — are subject to less regulation than standard passenger cars, but their power output is also very limited. British regulations state that quadricycles like the Arrow should produce no more than 15kW, which equates to roughly 20 horsepower.

Even with its paltry power output, the Arrow's light weight means that it's not quite as slow as it might sound. According to the company, it should be good for a 0-62 mph time of 7.8 seconds, and have a top speed of around 60 mph. In a car with no roof, doors, or proper windshield, it'll likely feel a lot faster than its speedo suggests too. Unsurprisingly, given the car's small battery, its range is a mere 100 miles.

While the name might no longer be familiar to some American enthusiasts, Austin has a long history both in the U.K. and abroad. The company was founded in 1905 and produced its first car at its factory in Longbridge, England, the following year. Austin's cars were a familiar sight across the U.K. until the brand was discontinued in 1987, and they were also sold in the U.S. for many years. The iconic, game-changing Mini was originally badged as an Austin in America, while the less well-received Marina was sold stateside until 1975.

Austin became part of British Motor Corporation in 1952, which in turn merged with Leyland Motor Corporation to become British Leyland Motor Corporation in 1968. By the '80s, British Leyland had begun selling off some of its numerous divisions and retiring others. Austin was deemed surplus to the conglomerate's requirements and was subsequently phased out. The rights to the name transferred to Rover Group, which later became MG Rover. The rights were later bought by the Chinese Nanjing Automobile Group as part of the latter's acquisition of the remains of MG Rover. Rumors suggested that Nanjing was planning to bring back Austin as a budget brand, but no such return materialized. In 2015, a British businessman acquired the rights to the Austin name and set about launching the current Austin Motor Company.

Although it's still early days for the latest iteration of Austin, it has already made more steps to a proper comeback than many revived brands ever manage. In October, the brand confirmed that it had opened its first official dealership and service center in Godalming, a town that's just under 40 miles from London. It says a wider dealer network across the UK and Europe will be launching soon.

With the first examples hitting the dealership and the order books starting to fill, will we see 20-horsepower Austin EVs taking to American roads anytime soon? Surprisingly, the answer might be yes. Austin already has a website live for American buyers, a registered business address in Texas, and a live U.S. trademark application. Its website states that its latest EV is available to order in the U.S., with a starting price of $95,000 and a build time of between six and nine months. Imported examples would need to be registered with a Specially Constructed Vehicle Number, which would classify it as a kit or homemade vehicle.

In an interview with Top Gear, Austin's CEO Nigel Gordon-Stewart also hinted that new all-electric models from the brand might arrive in the future. According to Gordon-Stewart, "The Arrow is targeted at people who would go out and buy themselves a motorbike like a Harley-Davidson," but the company will "be following up with a second car fairly soon, which [will take] us to the next level."

According to the Top Gear report, the company is reportedly exploring the idea of making a small city car along the same lines as the original Mini and its sibling, the Super Seven. Potentially, this new, currently unconfirmed city car model could also be classed as a quadricycle, just like the Arrow EV. If it was, it would rival other Euro-market microcars like the Citroën Ami and the funky, Isetta-like Microlino. Austin clearly has big plans for the future, but for now, its fortunes will be dictated by the success or failure of its unique retro-modern roadster.