Start with what the Austin FX3 is: a 3-door taxicab with 2.2-litre ohv petrol/later models diesel, built from 1948 to 1958, in a decade split by war, when civilian production stopped and restarted. What it meant takes a little longer.
The background
The Austin FX3 is a taxicab that was sold in the United Kingdom by Austin from 1948 to 1958. It was designed to comply with the Metropolitan Police Conditions of Fitness for London taxicabs, but was also used in other towns and cities in the UK. It was commissioned from Austin by taxi dealers Mann & Overton and built by Carbodies of Coventry on a chassis supplied by Austin.
The engineering
The engine is 2.2-litre ohv petrol/later models diesel. Drive goes through a 4-speed manual. The wheelbase is 9 ft. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Where it sits
In the British Motor Corporation line-up the Austin FX3 has a clear place: it replaced the Austin Low Loader Taxi; it handed the line to the Austin FX4; the factory was Coventry, England (Carbodies: final assembly), United Kingdom. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Porsche 356, the Citroën 2CV, the Chevrolet Bel Air. Its British Motor Corporation stablemates include the Austin 10 and the Austin 12.
Owning one today
There is no federal ownership record for the Austin FX3 — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.