Austin Motor Company Limited

Ghost Corp Apparel — resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.

Austin Motor Company Limited began in December 1905, when Herbert Austin set up shop in a former tin-printing works at Longbridge, Birmingham. From this unpromising industrial launchpad came a huge range of British cars, commercial vehicles and the sort of engineering confidence that could fill a factory gate.

The company’s masterstroke arrived in 1922 with the Austin Seven. Small, affordable and hugely influential, it helped put motoring within reach of ordinary households rather than only the well-heeled and heavily goggled. Longbridge became one of Britain’s defining motor-manufacturing sites, turning out everything from compact family transport to grander saloons.

During the Second World War, Austin redirected its industrial muscle toward military work, producing vehicles, equipment and aircraft-related output. After the war it returned to cars, including the A40, A30 and other sturdy machines built for roads that were often narrower, colder and less forgiving than the sales brochures suggested.

In 1952, Austin merged with Morris Motors under the new British Motor Corporation. The Austin name continued on vehicles long after the independent company disappeared, while Longbridge remained central to the story of Britain’s motor industry.

Our Austin Motor Company Limited collection celebrates the Longbridge original: a corporate ghost with oily hands, a stubborn little Seven, and more factory-floor swagger than any sensible wardrobe strictly requires.