1973 Austin 'Taxi Cab' Saloon - CHARITY LOT

The classic black London taxi cab as we know it today, the Austin FX4, was introduced in 1958 and carried over from the design of the FX3 model that first entered service in 1948. The FX4 was developed by BMC in collaboration with coachbuilder Carbodies and featured a separate chassis with divided cabin, providing maximum passenger space in the rear compartment, and a tight turning circle for negotiating London's narrow streets. The first FX3s featured Austin's rugged 2.2-litre diesel engines and automatic transmissions but in 1971 the motors were enlarged to 2.5-litres, along with minor changes to the bumpers and trim. However, the FX4 remained substantially the same from the first to the last car completed in 1997 and the spirit lives on in the current TX1. An iconic machine, the FX4 is as much a part of the face of London as the double-decker buses, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament and must rank as one of the most recognisable cars ever made, featuring in countless movies and television series.