The Austin Arrow Roadster - The EV for People Who Like Classic Cars But Hate Wrenches

There is a romantic ideal in the car world. It’s the open-top roadster, preferably something pre-war, with a long bonnet, wire wheels, and a windscreen that’s more of a suggestion than a barrier. It’s the wind-in-the-hair, bugs-in-the-teeth fantasy of a bygone era. And for most of us, that’s where it stays: a fantasy.

Why? Because the reality of owning an 80- or 90-year-old car is a harsh dose of mechanical un-romance. It’s the smell of gasoline and oil on your clothes, the constant hunt for unobtanium parts, the fear of a catastrophic breakdown every time you venture more than 10 miles from home, and the endless, costly "joy" of maintenance.

What if you could have the entire experience—the style, the feeling, the open-air purity—with none of the pain? What if you could get the 1930s aesthetic with 2020s reliability?

Enter the Austin Motor Company Arrow Roadster. This isn't just another hyper-fast EV startup. It's the revival of a storied British name, and its first new car is a brilliant, quirky, and beautiful solution to a problem many enthusiasts won't admit they have. It might just be the perfect classic car for the modern age.

The Classic Experience, Sans Grease

Let’s be honest: while some people genuinely love tuning carburetors by ear or adjusting ancient drum brakes, most of us just want to drive. The joy of a classic is the tactile experience: the simple steering wheel, the low-slung seating position, and the direct connection to the road. The pain of a classic is that it often fails to provide that experience because it’s sitting in a garage, stubbornly refusing to start.

The Arrow, from the revived Austin Motor Company, meticulously separates the good from the bad. The design is pure pre-war magic, a clear homage to the legendary Austin Seven and its racing derivatives. It has the correct proportions, the delicate cycle fenders, the leather bonnet straps, and a stunning boat-tail rear. The interior is a minimalist dream of wood, leather, and toggle switches. There isn’t even a proper windshield, just a pair of aero screens to keep the largest insects out of your smile.

But beneath that hand-built, retro coachwork is a 20-kWh electric powertrain. This is the masterstroke. It’s not a fire-breathing, 1,000-horsepower monster. In fact, it's classified as a quadricycle in the UK, packing a modest 20 horsepower. But in a car that weighs a feather-light 1,334 pounds (605 kg), that's enough to zip it from 0 to 60 mph in under eight seconds and to a top speed of 60 mph.

This isn't about raw speed; it's about quickness. It’s about silent, instant torque that makes it, as the company’s CEO called it, "super nippy." It’s the ability to hop in, flip a switch, and glide silently through town or down a country lane, enjoying the sunshine and the stares. No choke, no flooding, no warming up. Just pure, unadulterated driving pleasure. With a 100-mile range, it’s the perfect vehicle for a weekend morning adventure, and it will always get you home.

The Star of Cars and Coffee

A weekend morning brings us to the modern mecca of car culture: Cars and Coffee. Imagine the scene. You pull up in the Arrow. You glide in silently, which first turns heads. Then, you park.

You will not be parked near the other EVs—the rows of Teslas, Rivians, and Lucids. You also won't be parked with the pristine, original classics, whose owners are nervously wiping off microscopic dust specks. You will be in a class of one.

The Arrow is the ultimate conversation starter. It will draw a crowd faster than a free-revving V12. The classic car contingent will approach first, recognizing the design cues. They’ll peer at the wire wheels and the vintage-style gauges, nodding in appreciation. Then, the confusion will set in. "Where's the exhaust?" "Is this a new kit?" "What's under the bonnet?"

Then the EV crowd will arrive, drawn by the novelty. It breaks all their rules. It's an EV that isn't obsessed with 0-60 times, screen size, or semi-autonomous driving. It's an EV that prioritizes style and joy over all-out performance. The Arrow bridges the gap, becoming a unique piece of rolling sculpture that both sides can appreciate.

In a sea of identical supercars and perfectly restored (and perfectly common) Mustangs, the Arrow is unique. It’s a statement that you value history, but you live in the present. You appreciate aesthetics, but you demand reliability. It's the car that everyone will be taking pictures of.

The Price of Priceless (and Painless)

So, what does this slice of electric nostalgia cost? The Austin Arrow is priced at £31,000, which translates to approximately $42,000 USD.

At first glance, that might seem steep for a 20-hp "quadricycle." But look at the alternative. The prompt for this column mentioned a "fully restored 80- to 90-year-old roadster." Go ahead and search for one. A show-quality, concourse-level 1930s Ford Roadster or a 1940s convertible can easily rocket past $60,000, $80,000, and even six figures. These are museum pieces, trailers to events, and are almost as fragile as the day they were built.

Even a decent "driver-quality" 1930s roadster, one that you'd be willing to take out on the road, will likely cost you $30,000 to $50,000. And that's just the buy-in. It doesn’t include the inevitable $5,000 bill for a fuel system rebuild, the $10,000 for an engine-out service, or the small, constant hemorrhaging of cash for parts that simply wear out.

Suddenly, $42,000 for a brand new, hand-built car with a warranty, modern EV components, and zero risk of an oil leak on your garage floor looks like an absolute bargain. You're not just buying a car; you're buying peace of mind. You're buying all the time you won't spend in a garage and all the time you will spend driving.

The Ideal Owner

This brings us to the final, most important question: Who is this for?

This is not for the EV-spec-sheet warrior. This is not for the classic car purist who believes any deviation from original is heresy.

The ideal buyer for the Austin Arrow Roadster is the "aesthetic enthusiast." It's for the person who has a practical daily driver but wants a second (or third) car that is 100% about fun. It’s for the classic car lover who is aging out of the desire to lie on a cold concrete floor. It’s for the EV-curious individual who has been repelled by the appliance-like nature of modern electrics.

It's for someone who understands that 60 mph in a tiny, open car with no windshield feels faster and more exhilarating than 160 mph in a silent, insulated, modern hypercar. It is a vehicle designed to put a smile on your face, to engage your senses, and to start conversations. It’s for the driver who wants all the romance of the past, powered by the clean, simple, reliable promise of the future.

Wrapping Up

The Austin Motor Company hasn't just built a new EV. It has built a time machine. It’s a car that solves the single greatest problem of the classic car hobby: the "classic" part. It delivers the vintage, analog driving experience that so many of us crave, but it strips away the mechanical anxiety, the unreliability, and the constant maintenance that keeps most old cars parked.

The Arrow Roadster is a bold, beautiful, and brilliant idea. It’s a classic car with a modern heart, and it proves that the future of driving isn't just about autonomy and acceleration—it's about joy.

Disclosure: Images rendered by Artlist.io

Rob Enderle is a technology analyst at Torque News who covers automotive technology and battery developments. You can learn more about Rob on Wikipedia and follow his articles on Forbes, X, and LinkedIn.