The first Austin A40 was launched in 1947 as the 2-door Dorset and the 4-door Devon saloon. A 1200cc ohv 4-cylinder engine powered the A40, which was later available as a van, pickup, and countryman estate model. The Chassis and mechanics of the A40 were given to Jensen to build the Austin A40 Sports. After 450,000 were made, the A40 was superceded by the A40 Somerset in 1952 which was mechanically almost the same as the Devon/Dorset models. The third 'A40' was launched in 1954 to replace the A40 Somerset together with the better equipped A50 Cambridge. The A40/A50 Cambridge shared a monocoque bodyshell that was also adapted for the A90 Westminster. The A40 Cambridge was very plain compared to its A50 sibling, and even lacked wind-up windows on base models. In 1957 the Cambridge was upgraded to A55 and the A40 models were dropped. A new Pininfarina-designed Austin A40 was launched at the 1958 London Motor Show as a 2-door booted saloon with a 948cc B-series engine. In 1959 the Countryman version was launched with a drop-down bootlid and lift-up rear window to give hatchback praticality. In 1961 the A40 was revised with new grille, longer wheelbase and slightly more power as the MkII. For 1962 the 1098cc engine was given to the Austin A40 MkII but the recently introduced Austin 1100 (ADO 16) saw sales of the A40 go into decline.