This rather battered Austin Seven was salvaged from a ditch in Oxfordshire and taken on an adventurous journey across two continents by John Coleman in 1959.

Intending to travel across the northern and southern American continents, Coleman’s inspiration was Aimé Tschiffely, a Swiss writer and adventurer who had travelled a similar route on horseback in 1925 to 1927. Coleman attracted support for his epic journey from the Montagu Motor Museum and Austin Motors who offered spare parts and its agents’ services to help.

The first stage of the journey started in Buenos Aires and on to the Andes Mountains towards the dirt roads of Chile. Upon reaching Peru, roads had been closed due to earthquakes, and in Ecuador the rainy season meant that the car became bogged down in the mud, rescued only by a passing bus. 

The swamp between Columbia and Panama meant travel by ferry, but in Costa Rica there was a welcome sight of the Pan American Highway, although there were 40 rivers to cross and only ten bridges. From there to Texas then New Orleans and New York, he finally arrived on 6 July 1960 after 11 months and 11,567 miles. The adventure is described in John Coleman's book, 'Coleman's Drive'.