Two things were noticeable about Austin's new design. He had parted from the Vickers brothers because he had refused to use the then more conventional vertical engine in Wolseley cars. His new car had a vertical engine and, in all but minor detail, was identical to the English-built Clément-Gladiators assembled in the same factory.

A further injection of capital was needed in 1906 and William Harvey Du Cros (1846-1918) joined the board of directors. After that Harvey Du Cros junior of