Austin A90 Atlantic Design Source Puzzle

Since I wasn't there to experience it, my knowledge of post- World War 2 English cars is not as good as it might be.  Which is why I hope some readers will pitch in regarding whether or not there was a "missing link" in the inspiration of the design of the Austin A90 Atlantic.

The Wikipedia entry cited above states (as of January 2019):

"The Atlantic was one of the first post-war cars engineered from scratch by Austin, and was said to be styled from a thumbnail sketch by Leonard Lord, then Chairman of Austin and later the British Motor Corporation (BMC) — though in truth the styling was more likely the work of resident Argentinian Austin stylist Dick Burzi. The car was almost certainly influenced by a 1946 Pininfarina-bodied Alfa Romeo cabriolet, which just happened to end up at the Longbridge factory in mid-1947, a few months before the light blue 16 hp sports prototype made its first appearance in the experimental department and on nearby roads around the factory."

As for that Pinin Farina design, this link states:

"Ordered new by a wealthy lady from Milan, Giuliana Tortolli-Cuccioli, this car was bodied by Pinin Farina in 1946, on the base of one of the 14 Alfa Romeo chassis delivered to the coachbuilder in 1942...

"It was sold during 1948 to Leonard Lord, the Chairman of Austin, and became an inspiration for the Austin A90 Atlantic, before being used personally by the Managing Director, George Harriman. And it was then that an exciting new chapter in the car's life began. Holden Koto was a young designer collaborating with Raymond Loewy, who had offices in Paris, New York and London. In the early 1950s, Loewy signed a contract with British Leyland to design the new Austin Seven, and Holden Koto was sent to work at Austin for four months. While there, he expressed his huge admiration for the Alfa Romeo, and George Harriman ended by selling it to him, well below its value, as a bonus. Koto used the car for the next 12 months before taking it back to America with him."

One link has the Alfa turning up at Longbridge in mid-1947, the other gives 1948 as the date it was acquired by Lord.  Wikipedia says the dates of the 1948 Earls Court Motor Show were 27 October – 6 November.  Given the time to develop a production car body in those days, the 1947 date seems more likely.  But if Lord bought the car in 1948, it's unlikely that it inspired A90 Atlantic styling -- despite claims from some Internet sources including the first Wikipedia link above.

Also introduced at the '48 Earls Court show was the Daimler DE-36 Drophead Coupe by Hooper called the "Green Godess" by some.  Bonhams auction house states:

"The building and subsequent sorting out of the Daimler Green Goddess is well documented in surviving Daimler and Hooper & Co. Ltd. records. They show that just after New Year's 1948, Hooper body no. 9352 was commissioned, to be built to the coachbuilder's design no. 8183. Daimler DE36 chassis no. 51233, onto which the body for “the Chairman's car” would be mounted, was received by Hooper's on June 7, 1948. Osmund F. Rivers, Hooper's chief designer, was responsible for completing the car for Earls Court. During the final weeks of assembly, 24-hour departmental commitments were required to complete the car for the October 27 opening."

A related design, first appearing on a Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith chassis, as mentioned here:

"This beautiful Hooper bodied Saloon is a one off car with a very interesting history. In 1948, the chief designer for Hooper, Osmond Rivers, was commissioned by Hooper to design a "new look" to get away from the classic designs which had continued after World War II. He produced seven bodies. Once [sic] of which was shown at Earl's Court Motorshow in 1948. Fearing the car would not be well received because it was as he called it "rotund" Hooper asked for a more "razor edged" design. The result was design number 8234 on job number 9568 on chassis number WGC16. No other body was made just like it. It received great acclaim as a Motorshow One Off Prototype that influenced many designs to come. "

That is all the background I could find.  Now for some images to continue the tale.

Gallery

1950 Austin Atlantic Drophead Coupe - auction photo.  The design includes a centrally-mounted auxiliary light similar to that of the 1948 Tucker.  Borrowed from contemporary Pontiacs are "silver streaks on the bonnet and boot (hood and trunk).

Same car seen from rear quarter.  The true subject of this post is the feature of the front fender fading downwards to nearly the car's rear, combined with the lack of a distinct rear fender.  This style theme was in place at Austin months before the A90 Atlantic debuted in October 1948.

1952 Austin A90 Atlantic Sports Saloon - auction photo showing a coupé version.

1946 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Cabriolet Speziale by Pinin Farina - auction photo.  This was supposedly the inspiration for A90 Atlantic styling.  A case might be made that the extreme aft designs are similar, but the swept front fender feature is absent here.  Clearly this Pinin Farina design had minimal influence on the Austin.

1948 Daimler DE-36 "Green Godess" Drophead Coupé Earls Court show car, body by Hooper, photo via Bonhams.  On the other hand, this first example of Hooper's "Empress" fender style was first shown at the same time as the A90 Atlantic.  The fender theme is essentially identical.  Were the two designs one of those interesting cases of simultaneous inspiration?  Or was there another similar design from around 1946-47 that inspired them both?  Let us know in comments if there was one.

1949 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith saloon by Hooper, for sale.  This was the "Empress" saloon that appeared at the 1949 Earls Court show.  Hooper built many variations on this theme over the following decade on Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Daimler chassis.

Badge Engineering the BMC 1100 (ADO16)

I wrote about some badge engineering of the original ADO15 Mini here and about the larger, later ADO16 Morris 1100 here.

Like the ADO15 Minis, the later (starting 1962) ADO16s appeared with several brand nameplates.  Mechanical differences aside, from a design perspective we find a case of "badge engineering" -- largely superficial detailing differences intended to denote brand identity as cheaply (in tooling costs) as practical. The Wikipedia entry dealing with the ADO16 lines is here.

Besides the higher-volume production Austin and Morris ADO (British Motor Corporation's Amalgamated Design Office) 16s, that platform was used for the lesser BMC brands MG, Riley, Vanden Plas and Wolseley.

Gallery

1963 Austin 1100

1962 Morris 1100
Morris and Austin 1100s featured different badges and grille bars, but otherwise looked the same.

MG 1100
Use of a version of MG's traditional grille required some slight changes to the hood and front sheet metal.  The car shown in the press release photo also sports a two-tome paint job.

1965 Riley Kestrel
The Kestrel's side chrome strip is the same as the MGs.  Front end changes accommodate a slightly stylized traditional Riley grille plus the side "whisker" treatment carried over from the earlier Mini-based Riley Elf.

1967 Vanden Plas Princess
This more sombre appearance was intended to denote a top-of-the-line, dignified 1100.  Aside from the side strip being painted, the Princess got a slightly different hood, grille and lighting treatment.

1967 Wolseley 1100
Wolseley's changes are more in line with the Riley's.  Yet again, BMC stylists were allowed hood stamping adjustments.  The grille openings and light placements are nearly the same as the Kestrel's, again minimizing tooling expenditures.

Some Badged First-Generation British Minis

Today's Mini brand is from BMW.  But the 1959 original Minis were products of BMC, the British Motor Corporation, that was the result of a merger of Austin and Morris. Some background is here and here.

The first Minis, produced 1959-1967, were the Morris Mini-Minor and the Austin Seven, the latter a long-time Austin model name.  Two years later, BMC launched Mini-based cars for two of its lesser brands.  These were the Riley Elf and Wolseley Hornet.

Although there may have been some mechanical differences between these various Mini-based brands, from a styling perspective it seems to have been a matter of what is called "badge engineering" -- cheaply implemented superficial differences intended to preserve brand identities.

The original Mini concept was successful in its day, but in the long run BMC, Austin, Morris, Riley and Wolseley all disappeared from the automotive scene.

Gallery

1962 Austin Mini-Cooper

1964 Morris Mini-Cooper
By far the most popular versions of British Minis were from Morris and Austin.

1961 Riley Elf
The Elf received a small bustle back and extended fenders.  The hood and lower front fender cuts lines are carried over from Morris and Austin.  A small version of a traditional Riley grille was added, along with "whisker" openings as part of the lower light ensemble.

Wolseley Hornet
Wolseley Hornets received treatments similar to the Elfs, the grille being characteristic of Wolseley.  One difference seen on the car illustrated here is the smoothed front fender -- the angled sheet metal join is missing.