Each car was manufactured in South Wales at a specially constructed factory, opened in 1949 under the name of the Austin Junior Car Factory. The business operated on a not-for-profit basis, existing purely for the employment of disabled coal miners who sought a new vocation after injury.
Pedal cars were made from scrap metal taken from the Longbridge Austin factory, each built and painted in the same way as the actual cars would have been. Standard features included working headlights and horn, detachable wheels with Dunlop tyres, a realistic facia panel and leather or cloth seating. In addition, each car had an opening bonnet and boot, chrome bumpers, hub caps, grille, and boot handle.
A total of 32,098 Austin J40 pedal cars were made before production ceased in September 1971 with cars being shipped around the world. Many featured in films for road safety or were used as fairground rides, but most were sold to families to be enjoyed by children, despite the purchase price equating to 2 weeks of the average salary at the time.
Today the J40 pedal cars are as sought after as a full-sized classic car with restoration ready examples, continuing to be discovered in sheds around the world, now fetching thousands of pounds. Concours examples, as seen on the grid at Goodwood Revival, can fetch much more.
