The Gordon Pixie

• 
• 

If one decade had to be acknowledged as the golden age for bespoke coachbuilding, it must surely be the 1930s. Not only were the high-end firms dressing long, low chassis in increasingly elaborate, sweeping designs, but an array of special, stylised bodies were also offered for commissioning by mid-market buyers.

Gordon & Co of Sparkbrook, near Birmingham, was one of the many small enterprises willing to transform lowly family cars into pretty pretenders to upmarket motoring. Specialising in Austins, even the unassuming little 10 was considered ripe for the Gordon treatment.

The Pixie sports saloon de luxe body was Gordon’s entry-level offering, available across the 10/4, 12/4 and 12/6 platforms. When an ordinary 10/4 from the Austin factory cost only £168 in 1932, a Pixie body raised the cost by almost 30 per cent, but it did offer a lot more style – ideal for the image-conscious young lady to be seen running around town in.

Practically, however, the Pixie provided little benefit, with only an enclosed boot space and spare wheel to help it meet its aspirations of luxury, and even that feature was soon to become obsolete. What the Pixie amounted to was a car that no one really needed but, nevertheless, was a very nice thing to have if one could afford it. Zack Stiling discovers the simple charms of a rare survivor in the August issue of The Automobile, available now.

Aggiunga un commento...