Corgi VA11203 Austin A40 Farina Countryman – Sutherland Green

In 1955 the Duke of Edinburgh visited Austin’s Longbridge plant and was shown around by BMC’s Chairman Sir Leonard Lord. While the party were inspecting the styling studio the Duke turned to Lord and said, ‘Sir Leonard, I think you ought to have another look at things because I am not sure these are up to the foreign competition’. A mortified Lord immediately contacted Italian stylist Farina, and the 1958 A40, a clever elegant re-skin of the A35, was the first fruit of that relationship. The car modelled is one of BMC’s press cars and features in many publicity images.