Astra (1954 automobile)

The Astra, Little Horse, was an English car built by a subsidiary of British Anzani of Hampton Hill, Middlesex from 1954 to 1959. At GBP348 it claimed to be the smallest and cheapest four-wheeler on the British market. The car had originally been built by JARC motors and sold as the Little Horse.

Car

It featured a rear-mounted 322 cc air-cooled, twin-cylinder engine mounted under the floor driving the rear wheels through a three-speed motorcycle-type gearbox. The steel channel section chassis had all-round independent suspension with swing axles at the rear. Most cars had two seater estate car bodies, but some four-seat saloons were also made. The bodies were made of aluminium. The car could also be bought in kit form. It was claimed to be able to reach 55 mph (89 km/h) and return 60 mpg_-imp (4.7 L/100 km; 50 mpg_-US).

After production ceased, some coupés were made by Gill cars and sold as the Getabout. The rights were also bought by Harold Lightburn of Camden, Adelaide, Australia who fitted a new glass-fibre estate body and sold the car as the Zeta between 1963 and 1966.

Astra (1930 automobile)

The Astra was made by Automobiles Astra, Liege, Belgium in 1930. It is considered a textbook example of car design piracy, as the 1,100cc S.C.A.P.-engined car that made its debut at the 1930 Brussels Motor Show was an almost exact copy of the Tracta. It never went into production, and the projected 6- and 8- cylinder versions were, most likely, never built.

Astra (1920 automobile)

The Astra was an American automobile manufactured in 1920. The car was built by a subsidiary concern of Dorris Motors Corporation, and was shown that year in its native St. Louis, Missouri. It featured a 108-inch (2,700 mm) wheelbase, a Le Roi four-cylinder engine, and a slightly pointed radiator. Some five or ten units were built before the company failed in June 1920.

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