1956 Nash Metropolitian Coupe

Description

In a real "rags to riches" story, Charles W Nash went from being an orphan working on a farm in Michigan to President of General Motors by 1912. Following his resignation due to a dispute with GM boss William C Durant, Nash formed his own company in 1916 and began producing cars under his own name in Kenosha, Wisconsin just two years later. Nash merged with the giant Kelvinator Corporation in 1936, whose post-war automobiles refused to follow prevailing styling trends, remaining steadfastly independent and always unconventional. Alongside the Ambassador and Rambler family sedans and wagons, Nash offered a number of British imports including the stylish Nash-Healey sports car and the quirky Metropolitan, a combination of Detroit styling and Austin engineering. The Metropolitan's origins can be traced back to the NXI, a prototype small car Nash was keen to put into production but, lacking the means, took the design to various European companies, including Fiat and Standard-Triumph before settling on Austin. Originally launched in 1954, the new model used a mix of A30 and A40 mechanicals and was available in both convertible and hardtop configurations. The original 1.2-litre model developed 42 horsepower and offered willing performance, although by American standards it lacked power. Marketed initially as a Nash, the Metropolitan was also sold with Hudson badges for a period after the two merged and in April 1956 a facelifted 1500 model was released, with a revised front grille and a chrome side strip to facilitate two-tone paintwork. More important changes took place under the bonnet, with a 1489cc version of the B-series engine upping horsepower to 47. A right-hand drive model was finally announced in April 1957, simply badged as the Metropolitan 1500 and production continued until 1961. With 104,377 examples sold over the lifespan of the model, the Metropolitan can be considered a commercial success and remains popular with collectors to the present day.