London's iconic black cab wasn't purely an Austin design — the taxi dealership that commissioned it, Mann & Overton, paid for half the development cost themselves.
Median 101 hp across 745 similar cars
Lead trim: FX4 2.2 petrol (2199 cc) · up to 67 hp
Austin FX4 and FX4D1958–1982
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Austin FX4 and FX4D yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactLondon's iconic black cab wasn't purely an Austin design — the taxi dealership that commissioned it, Mann & Overton, paid for half the development cost themselves.
The Austin FX4 is a hackney carriage produced from 1958 until 1997 (more than 75,000 built), sold by Austin from 1958 until 1982 and, over its lifetime, increasingly regarded as a design classic and a visual icon of London. It succeeded the Austin FX3 (1948–1958) and, like the FX3, was designed by Austin (Eric Bailey) with Mann & Overton, the London taxi dealership that commissioned it and paid half its cost, and Carbodies, the coachbuilder that built the body; it was the first London taxi in production with four doors. It kept a separate chassis but with independent front suspension and dual-circuit hydraulic brakes, and Ackermann steering geometry allowed a 7.6 m (25 ft) U-turn on London's narrow roads. The first FX4, registration VLW 431, was delivered in July 1958, and an order worth £24 million for 2,000 was placed at that year's Commercial Motor Exhibition. The first model had a 2178 cc BMC diesel engine (based on the petrol Austin A70 engine) and a Borg-Warner automatic; the manual transmission from the Austin Gipsy was added in 1961, and from 1962 the Austin 2199 cc petrol engine was available, though almost all FX4 taxis had the diesel. With the sudden demise of the intended replacement in 1969 the cab was revised, losing the roof-mounted "bunny ears" indicators for the tail-lights and indicators of the MkII Austin 1100/1300, with sound deadening, black vinyl seats and 4 inches more partition legroom. In 1971 the 2178 cc diesel was replaced by a 2520 cc version (the FX4D, available 1971 through 1982), which suited automatic transmissions better, and the petrol engine was discontinued in 1973.
Collectors Spotted in the Austin FX4 Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Austin FX4 yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
3 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FX4 2.2 BMC diesel (2178 cc) | 1958–1971 | 2.2 L | 55 hp | 89 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| FX4 2.2 petrol (2199 cc) | 1962–1973 | 2.2 L | 67 hp | 121 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| FX4D 2.5 diesel (2520 cc) | 1971–1982 | 2.5 L | 57 hp | 109 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
The last Fairway wore the plate R1 PFX, read as RIP FX, and went straight to a museum instead of the road.
When the FX4R's successor flopped, Carbodies started rebuilding old taxi chassis instead of making new ones — and the law required these refurbished cabs to wear a special "Q" registration plate, not the current year's letter.
London's iconic black cab wasn't purely an Austin design — the taxi dealership that commissioned it, Mann & Overton, paid for half the development cost themselves.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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